Tapping into the Gen Z and Millennial Markets: 5 Tips for Small E-Commerce Businesses

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According to a 2022 report from data gathering platform Statista, there are around 47.27 million active e-commerce users in the Philippines, making it one of the most popular online activities among Filipinos alongside social media or online gaming. Statista also noted that 52% of online shoppers in the country belong within the age range of 25 to 34 years old. Meanwhile, market research company Kantar reported that 7 out of 10 Filipino Gen Z are shopping online.

Given this data,  there’s no doubt that millennials and Gen Z are some of the main drivers of e-commerce activity in the Philippines. It then follows that catering to millennial and Gen Z shoppers can greatly boost the e-commerce sales of your small business. Here are some pointers on how to achieve this:

Tapping into the Gen Z and Millennial Markets 5 Tips for Small E-Commerce Businesses

1. Set Up A Mobile-Friendly Shopping Platform

As noted by Statista, 92% of Filipino shoppers use their smartphones to make online purchases. Hence, if your online store isn’t optimized to be displayed on a mobile device, then you’re likely to lose the patronage of your millennial and Gen Z target audience who prefer to shop in this manner. To attract these young shoppers, ensure that your online storefront looks pleasant on any mobile device. The photos should be well-cropped, the text should be legible, and the platform interface should be convenient to use. While this may seem like a trivial matter at first, don’t underestimate how easy it is for potential customers to just switch to another shop if yours happens to be too clunky to navigate on a phone or tablet.

2. Offer Varied And Convenient Payment Options

In connection with the previous point, make your payment options as varied and convenient as possible. While cash on delivery is a popular option, many millennials and Gen Z shoppers have e-wallets and would much rather pay using those instead of cash. To this end, the best payment gateway for small business is one that can accept payment from both banks and e-wallets, reflects payments in real time, and is safe to use.

Maya Business can provide you with online payment solutions that have all these features and more. It gives your small business the tools it needs to make each online shopping experience hassle-free for your customers. Maya Checkout, for example, can directly accept card or e-wallet payments and can be seamlessly integrated into your storefront. Meanwhile, Maya Invoice Payments simplifies billing and ensures your customers get a clear rundown of their transaction details. With such tools, you offer more flexibility for your millennial and Gen Z customers as they transact with you.

3. Provide Engaging Multimedia Content

Rather than just taking photos of your products, consider providing multimedia content for your offerings as well. This may include short videos that demonstrate the product, GIF posts on social media, or even interactive content that aim to engage your customers such as livestreams. Millennial and Gen Z customers are used to interacting with various forms of media. So, if your business only sticks to one kind, then it might be difficult to hold their interest.  

In addition, user-generated content is also a great way to get your customers’ attention. For example, creating a hashtag about your product and encouraging people to use it for videos or photos of them engaging with your product can give your small business a big marketing push.

4. Tap Into Influencer Marketing

Nowadays, influencers tend to have a huge sway on the market of their established following on social media. In many cases, millennials and Gen Z are more likely to learn about a product or service if it happens to be endorsed by an influencer or content creator they follow. Try to reach out to influencers and see if they’d like to collaborate on a marketing project. This can range from something as subtle as simply using your product in a video without a direct mention to a full-on advertisement where they review and promote your product. 

Keep in mind that you have to be careful when choosing which influencer or content creator to work with. You’d ideally want someone who creates content that is already related to your product. For instance, a TikToker chef can review homemade sauces and promote them if they like it. Consider the influencer’s brand as well, making sure it doesn’t clash with what your business represents.

5. Be Clear About Your Business Values

Millennials and Gen Z are deeply engaged with social issues and often have strong opinions about them. As such, they’re more likely to patronize businesses that share the same values. Thus, make it a point to be clear about your business’s values and advocacies. Does your shop promote sustainability by using biodegradable packaging materials instead of plastic? Or perhaps a percentage of your sales are donated to a local charity? Be upfront about your brand values to better establish a connection with your customers.

With how much hold millennials and Gen Z have on the e-commerce market, it’s crucial for small businesses to come up with ways to reach out to their demographic. Let the tips discussed in this article guide you into tapping in those markets today.

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