Retail's New Battleground: The I Want What I Want When I Want It Generation

Consumers are so overwhelmed by the volume of information in their lives that they ignore information before they need it, but expect immediate solutions when they need them. Dr. Kit Yarrow identifies this mentality as “IWWIWWIWI (I want what I want when it want it)” in her book,Decoding the New Consumer Mind. IWWIWWIWI demands unsurpassed levels of responsiveness by marketers. Meeting this level of customer service does not earn extra credit for retailers, but rather is a basic requirement for most shoppers in the current economy. Retailers who don’t accommodate these elevated expectations will find themselves uninvited to the purchase party in short order.

Much IWWIWWIWI activity of late has focused on how buyers will get physical possession of their booty—whether sourced from bricks and mortar or pure-play digital retailers. The distinction between the two is becoming less and less relevant to consumers. Why would they care? Virtually every bricks and mortar retailer offers the option to shop online. Consumers can choose which manner of shopping best fits their needs. In most cases, consumers will switch between the two methods depending on their needs. Buying a gift of monogrammed sleeping bags for a nephew’s birthday from pottery barn kids? Best to handle that online. Picking up decorations for Thanksgiving dinner? A quick trip to Pottery Barn in the local mall is probably a more efficient choice.

Big box retailers like Target TGT +0.4%, Walmart, and Best Buy BBY -0.95% have long offered online shopping, but without home delivery (at least on many items). So why shop online if you have to go into the store anyway? Well, anyone who’s tried to buy a plasma TV at any of the above mentioned retailers may know that the likelihood of securing a clerk who is knowledgeable about their prospective purchase is a crapshoot. Shopping online facilitates the opportunity for deeper research of features, consumer reviews, and best pricing to buy with confidence. When the item arrives, the buyer is notified and can pick up the item at the nearest store when convenient, going directly to the customer service department and presenting documentation for pickup.

For shoppers of pure-play digital retailers, home (or work) delivery is the only option. For those who have a doorman or a receptionist, this is a glorious arrangement. No matter where in the world the purchaser may be, their delivery of J jeans or Birchboxes or monthly organic produce is lovingly received and supervised until its rightful owner can take possession. However, with a growingly flexible workforce, fewer and fewer people have a fixedlocation where they or someone in their stead can accept deliveries. The penalty for this otherwise more flexible work life is a FedEx FDX -1.44% failed delivery tag slapped on the front door. If this happens twice, rejection accelerates to torture with the desired package either returning to the shipper or requiring a trip to a distribution center, which is generally not located in an urban garden spot. These itinerant packages tend not to be aromatic candles or calligraphy kits but a desperately needed printer or antibiotics.

FedEx delivery truck on Jackson St, Chicago, IL (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Consumers have become channel agnostic in their buying experiences—expecting they can use either online or physical stores, depending on their needs. Savvy retailers recognize the delivery side of the equation is no different.

Westfield Labs recently announced the opening of Bespoke, with the mission of connecting the digital shopper to the physical world to close the gap. Scheduled to open in spring 2015, in San Francisco Centre, it will include pop-up versions of online retailers with merchandise pick-up and return options unavailable in the virtual world.

“Flexibility of shipping options is critical for consumer happiness,” explains Jenny Lefcourt, investor at Freestyle Capital. “Not all consumers need it tomorrow, not all will pay for shipping, and, believe it or not, consumers still enjoy going to the mall. A retailer’s job is to offer all experiences and let the consumer make the call.”