Last month, Sol de Janeiro, the popular beauty brand known for its beachy scents, hosted a standalone pop-up shop in New York’s Meatpacking District. The 3,700-square-foot store offered immersive experiences such as a play table to test and smell products and a guided meditation. The 10-day shop overlapped with an annual mid-February break when New York students have no school—a coincidence that may have helped attract the shop’s 18,000 attendees, many of whom waited in line for upwards of three hours just to get inside the Manhattan shop.

“The lines were around the block every day of the week, it didn’t slow down,” said Anne Talley, general manager of Americas at Sol de Janeiro. “We saw people of multiple generations together—moms and daughters.”

Those younger customers are helping to drive the revival of in-person shopping, a trend that many retail experts worried was passé a decade ago. Seventy-eight percent of young consumers prefer shopping in store, according to a recent survey conducted by VML covering Gen Alpha—the group born beginning in 2010—and teen consumers ranging in age from 6 to 16. The figure is nearly the same as the 80% of young shoppers who enjoy shopping online, VML found, noting that “digital natives are not digitally exclusives.”

The survey’s findings are not news to long-established retailers such as Claire’s, which uses its stores as a testing ground with Gen Alpha, and newer labels such as Sol de Janeiro and skincare brand Bubble, which sell directly to consumers online but host in-person pop-ups to better connect with customers and foster long-time loyalty. Most of Gen Alpha’s favorite brands offer in-person store experiences, whether through temporary storefronts, wholesale, or their own outposts, such as jeweler Kendra Scott. Alpha’s love of physical retail is also paving the way for an expected boost in in-store retail media opportunities, as more brands invest in the channel.

“When we think about Gen Alpha, their shopping is defined by parents,” said Hugh Fletcher, global marketing director and thought leadership lead at VML Commerce, noting that some retailers are creating experiences both parents and teens can enjoy. “They’re a young age group, probably a little less jaded by the world, more excited about heading out there and finding new experiences, and that might be influencing this love of physical stores across these age groups—there is a demand for it and if the experiences are right, they will do it.”

Digital fatigue

Part of the attraction to in-real-life shopping comes as a result of the pandemic’s lockdowns. Many young shoppers spent their formative years online, attending virtual school classes, playing digital games, and connecting for play dates with friends on Zoom. In-real-life experiences represent a return to pre-COVID life and a move away from digital platforms such as social media.

“Covid shaped the psyche of younger Gen Z and Gen Alpha,” said Shaina Zafar, co-founder and chief marketing officer at digital marketing agency JUV Consulting. “There’s a strong sense of digital fatigue young people are facing and feeling.”

Brick-and-mortar stores offer the group an alternative to mindless scrolling online. For Claire’s, which targets both Gen Alpha and Gen Z, its 3,000 stores operate as a test lab to see which products are resonating, according to Kristin Patrick, executive VP and CMO. The brand is working on evolving the in-store experience, she said, speaking at Ad Age’s recent Gen Z Summit in New York. Claire’s recently inked a deal with Walgreens to expand its reach to 4,400 stores; the teen brand is already in Kohl’s, Macy’s and Walmart locations.

“This group really likes to shop in stores, surprisingly,” Patrick said at the conference. “It’s like a treasure hunt—there’s stuff everywhere.”

Target, which is also popular with younger customers for its Starbucks and Ulta Beauty shop-in-shops, plays into the urgency of in-store search trends as well, by stocking items from collector subcultures such as Sailor Moon and Hello Kitty.  

That “discovery” element plays a big role in certain categories that are seeing success with physical shopping. Retail experts say skin care and beauty brands, as well as fast-fashion players, are the most attractive to young shoppers to buy in person. Such customers are eager to see the latest and greatest trends, which fashion players cycle out of stores quickly, and also try, touch and smell fragrances or cosmetics colors.

“With the fast fashion segment, there’s faster cycles of product innovation and catching new trends much more quickly—that becomes a big demand generator,” said Andrew Lipsman, an independent analyst of media, ads and commerce.

He added that the entertainment element is also important to teens. “There’s this undercurrent of shopping as entertainment, particularly in lifestyle categories,” he said. “As the experience evolves to become more experiential it brings younger consumers into that environment—they’re not afraid of the physical world, they don’t have their noses down in screens at all times.”

Social media drivers

Of course, digital marketing and influencers are playing a prominent role in driving demand for in-store experiences. For example, Sol de Janeiro promoted its recent pop-up on Instagram and TikTok, and worked with influencers to post early content. Zafar pointed to recent campaigns her agency worked on with influencer Emma Chamberlain and retailers such as Levi’s and Erewhon, which involved filming her within stores.

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“Some of what is happening is online campaigns with a favorite creator or influencer translating to being in person—there’s an expectation they’re doing a pop-up,” said Zafar. “[Chamberlain] is an example of a creator in person saying, ‘I want to come to the venue’ not just for her socials but for her fans.”

For Bubble, a company founded by Gen Z for Gen Z, the realization that the brand needed to have a physical presence came shortly after its 2020 debut. Founder Shai Eisenman said many of Bubble’s young target customers, including Gen Alpha, don’t have credit cards or a driver’s license—the group is reliant on cash and parent drivers who are receptive to a teen tagging along on a trip to Walmart, where Bubble began selling eight months after its launch.

Along with Walmart, Bubble is now in CVS and Ulta in the U.S. Yet as a wholesaler, the experience in a big box store is limited by shelf space, Eisenman said, noting that a big focus this year for Bubble is on its own pop-up shops. The brand was part of a pop-up last summer in Manchester, England, with other labels, which it marketed to its 2 million TikTok followers.

“I’m a big believer that the world has shifted—the consumer finds you on TikTok, they know how to go to your website, learn about the brand, then they go and shop for you in retail stores,” said Eisenman. “It’s a combined experience.”

Retail media growth

Experts expect the renewed interest in in-store shopping to fuel more brand dollars in the growing in-store retail media channel. U.S. retail media ad spend is expected to grow 29% this year to hit $59.98 billion; $370 million will come from in-store ads, according to recent data from eMarketer. The firm highlighted opportunities outside shops, including digital out-of-home ads in parking lots, such as near electric vehicle charging stations and curbside spots where consumers pick up goods bought online. Lipsman said he expects more digital content to blend into the in-store environment, including from creators and influencers, as brands recognize the value in the channel.

“It’s part of a broader trend around in-store digitization,” he said. “Dynamic digital creative can add to the experience and make the physical store feel more like a media or content environment.”