6 Tips for Attracting a Younger Customer Base

You might be asking yourself, what’s so special about a younger customer base and why should you target them? The simple answer is most eCommerce shoppers are young, and as more of them start earning, their purchasing power will keep increasing making it knowing how to appeal to a younger audience . In 2020, millennials spent around $1.4 trillion shopping. As an eCommerce business, you will be doing yourself a disservice by neglecting the 18 – 40 years olds. If your customer base has been mainly Gen Xers and older millennials, your marketing strategies will not work with younger millennials and Gen Zers and other younger audiences . There’s no need to worry because this article will discuss six tips for attracting a younger customer base.

How To Attract a Younger Audience to Your Business

Prioritize Convenience

We are looking at a generation of people who grew up with computers, phones, Walkmans, and iPods, while some spent their childhood on iPads. Right now, a large percentage of them are either working from home or schooling on Zoom. Millennials and Gen Zers prioritize convenience and won’t compromise on their belief for any business. As a business planning to target a younger customer base and reach young audiences , ensure to prioritize convenience.

Provide multiple shopping channels. Use social commerce, buy online, pick up in-store (BOPIS), curbside delivery, pop-up shopping events, etc. Enable multiple payment options, including buy now, pay later (BNPL) solutions that allow them to pay in installments. Use AR/VR tools and other technologies to provide a smooth experience emulating in-store shopping. For example, provide functionality that allows buyers to access multidimensional visuals of your products — as Ikea does by enabling VR try-on. Add a one-click checkout system to your website that is optimized for mobile devices o make it easy for buyers to reorder without re-entering their details and enable guest shopping.

Review your current business operations, from your technologies, website to your marketing and sales strategy, Review your current business operations, from your technologies, website to your marketing and sales strategy, and ask yourself one question; what is the easiest way to do this? Keep in mind that this question is about your customers, not you. The goal is to provide alternatives, change, or upgrade your marketing strategy and technologies to increase convenience for the young target audience.

Use Social Media

Social media in today’s world is not like it was 13 years ago. Social media platforms are tools and a world of their own, and the results you get depend on how you use them. You can use social media for social commerce, with Facebook and Instagram taking the lead here, along with the help of social media influencers . Millennials and Gen Zers are more than happy to shop on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook because they are not skeptical about the internet and social media like the older generations.

You can also use social media for marketing. Expand your reach, create awareness for your brand and products, and actively engage with a younger customer base. By focusing on engaging younger audiences . Another benefit of using social media is that it allows you to learn more about your target audience; their shopping habits, interests, and the cool trends they enjoy.

Partner With Influencers

Sometimes it’s more effective to let a cool kid introduce you to other cool kids at the cool party. We learned that from Hollywood teen movies, and it is sensible to use the same approach to attract a younger customer base. Millennials and Gen Zers, who are considered digital natives, use ad blockers, making it difficult to target and market to them with paid ads. And with the increasing data privacy laws in the eCommerce industry, you may struggle with creating personalized marketing strategies. Here’s the real kicker, influencers don’t face this challenge. They can build a community of like-minded people they can convince to carry out an action without using paid ads or personalized strategies. In 2021, Cristiano Ronaldo’s refusal to drink Coca-Cola resulted in a $4 billion loss for the beverage company. Although he is a soccer player, not an influencer, this is the power of influencer marketing among the younger shopping generation.

You will find many influencers on social media platforms who can help you connect to a younger audience more effectively and faster than your paid ads will. Look for influencers in your niche and collaborate with them to promote your brand and product to their young followers, who are primarily younger consumers .

Keep Up With Trends

Trends upon trends and challenges upon challenges—this is how the younger generations have a good time. In their room with a phone and microphone, they are ready to create content that could go viral on their favorite social media platforms. To truly engage younger audiences, you must understand what’s happening on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and emerging social networks.

Keeping up with trends is one of the best strategies to learn about your target audience, especially if you’re trying to appeal to a younger audience. It provides insight into what your young consumers value and what type of engaging content resonates with them. Participating in trending challenges, memes, or hashtags is also a way to encourage user generated content, which increases your reach and drives more customers to your brand.

Beyond boosting visibility, riding the trend wave makes your brand feel human. It’s always fun (and effective) to see businesses join the conversation young people are having. When done right, trend participation becomes part of your broader content strategy to engage effectively and build lasting relationships with a younger demographic.

Additionally, staying on top of market trends and digital tools used by rival brands targeting younger audiences gives you a competitive edge. Use social media analytics to monitor what’s working and spot shifts in behavior—essential data for strategically sound decisions.

Show Your Core Values

It’s not enough to list your brand values on a webpage—Generation Z and Millennials expect you to show your core values through consistent action. Today’s socially conscious audience doesn’t just want good products—they want brands that align with their worldview and take visible steps to make a difference.

These younger audiences care about social responsibility and expect your brand identity to reflect that. They want to support brands that take a stance on climate change, mental health, inclusion, and equity. In other words, they want you to walk the talk.

To build trust with a socially conscious and purpose-driven audience, choose one or two issues that matter to your young audience and commit to real-world action. That could mean forming partnerships, launching a campaign, or updating your mission statement to reflect a stronger stance on these issues.

This commitment not only deepens brand loyalty, but it also helps attract potential customers who see your values and feel connected to your cause. These are the elements that turn casual website visitors into loyal followers.

Use Modern Technology

A vital attribute of the younger generation of buyers every business should know is that they are tech-native. It is in your best interest to use modern technology to meet their expectations or risk losing them to rival brands. Redesign your website, web app, and mobile app to add modern features and services that will make it easy for them to engage with your business. Since most millennials and Gen Zers use smartphones, ensure your website is mobile-friendly to allow them comfortably shop.

If your website has been around for about a decade or more without periodical revamps, there is a high chance that it needs a modern redesign.