Federdistribuzione and Skuola.net Observatory

Digital natives, analogue shoppers: GenZ chooses the physical shop

Young people still like to shop 'between the shelves'. Because, in addition to products, traditional shops provide a social experience. Things change when they are asked if they would like to pursue a career in retail, but only due to a lack of knowledge about professional opportunities

by School Editorial

11 March 2026

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

After a post-pandemic digital binge, the young people of Generation Zeta are now re-appropriating a 'disconnected' dimension of life: not only the Y2K fashion accompanied by old-school mp3 players or digital cameras, but also a return to analogue shopping, which brings them back to traditional physical outlets, alone and with friends. More than 3 out of 4 young people, in fact, still shop in shops, 'go shopping' together with friends and (even) often dictate the family shopping agenda.

Low attractiveness

However, this deep relationship with the retail world does not translate, in their eyes, into immediate attractiveness in terms of work. As 4 out of 10 reject a priori the idea of working in a shop or for a chain of shops. This is a pity, since the modern retail sector is booming and offers numerous employment opportunities that are not always taken up.

Photography

This is the picture of the relationship between GenZ and consumption that emerges from the Young & Retail 2026 Observatory, the research project developed by Skuola.net in collaboration with Noi Distribuzione, the initiative promoted by Federdistribuzione, the association that brings together and represents Modern Distribution companies in Italia. A survey that involved a sample of 1,000 girls and boys aged between 17 and 25.

The investigation

The survey, as anticipated, brought out some surprising results. With 45% of the young people interviewed stating that their predominant purchasing channel remains the physical shop, flanked almost equally - in 32% of cases - by the online. These data therefore belie (adults') belief that we are dealing with a generation lost in the digital world and confirm young people's desire for a return to more physical experiences, such as going to a shop or shopping centre more (24%) or less (51%) often to spend time with their friends.

The reasons for choosing offline

If we then go on to analyse in detail the main reasons why people still buy offline, we can isolate three major reasons that drive their behaviour: firstly the product - being able to try it (53%), the wide choice (43%), prices and promotions (24%), quality (24%), exclusive articles not available online (9%) -, secondly sociality - shopping with other people (14%), the relationship with the shop staff (14%) -, and finally the emotional aspect.
In fact, people buy in certain types of physical shops not only for the content but also for the type of aura - using a term very much in vogue among the younger generations - that they convey in the form of presence on social trends (7%), approval from the peer group (7%) or the setting of the location (12%).
By virtue of this precise and articulated selection of primary needs to be satisfied, there is also a certain utilitarian dimension to shopping: 59%, for example, say they are not loyal to the point of sale but go where they find what they need, while 38% more or less often try in the physical shop and then buy online (implementing the practice of so-called showrooming).

Product guide

And, more generally, young people carefully select the channel to be used depending on the product to be bought: offline they mainly buy clothing (70% do so), food (62%) and, to some extent, cosmetics and personal care items (44%); online, on the other hand, they mainly buy everything related to hobbies and leisure (52%), along with some clothing (48%) and technology/electronics products (38%). Confirming, once again, that young people buy where convenience takes them, in the broadest sense of the term. All this preparation on "what is convenient where" translates, moreover, into a strong ability to condition - at least according to those directly involved - the consumption habits of households: about 7 out of 10 interviewees claim to have a fairly strong (51%) if not very strong (18%) influence on household purchases, both in terms of supply channels and the products to be chosen. Similarly, when it comes to the purchasing decisions that directly affect them, 42% say they have enough say and 31% say they are very influential.

House Influencer

Almost to the point of becoming true home influencers: 25% often recommend shops or brands they have tried out to their parents, 44% do so more occasionally but nonetheless. These data reinforce the role of young people as true domestic opinion leaders, capable of guiding and "rejuvenating" the habits of adults of reference.

Employment prospects

As anticipated, however, if retail is central to daily habits and its dynamics are known almost to perfection, the scenario changes radically when looking at the employment prospects glimpsed in the sector: there are in fact numerous specialised and well-paid professional figures, which are however often ignored.Only 9%, in fact, say - projecting forward - that they are interested in working in a shop on a permanent basis, while 15% would only consider the hypothesis if the job were compatible with their leisure needs and for 37% it would be a temporary job. Beware, however, of seeing in this a kind of snobbery. Because this attitude is, at least in part, the result of a superficial knowledge of the retail world, which often stops at the salesperson or little more, ignoring the managerial figures that are present in the sales outlets and in the central organisations of the large chains, who are not only involved in 'simple' distribution but also in logistics, sustainability, shop construction, urban planning and finance.
As proof of this, delving further into the subject reveals that 39% of the sample surveyed, once these aspects had been explained, were much more interested in working in this sector in general, while 22% would be more interested in one of the operational roles in the management of large chains.

Orientation

Suggesting, once again, the need to make a decisive change in the way school orientation courses are conducted: all too often our young people are not properly explained about the world of work and its professions - whether with a degree or a diploma - making it more difficult to access and find positions in the sectors where there are the greatest opportunities.