The ‘One-Click’ Generation and Your Business – Potential for Growth?

E-commerce is a huge portion of the UK economy, and growing still; online shopping is nothing short of a new normal for trade and retail, and a powerful way in which to solidify income for years to come. But if you’re new to e-commerce, you may not be leveraging it quite as well as you could be. There is one demographic you can look to for inspiration in this regard, though: the ‘One-Click Generation’.

Who are the ‘One-Click’ Generation?

’One-Click Generation’ is a colloquial term that refers to the online shopping habits of younger Millennial and Generation Z consumers. These demographics grew up in an age where technology and the internet were becoming increasingly widely adopted, and in which online solutions have created a new era of convenience and ease.

The ‘One-Click Generation’ are typified by a level of impulsivity – that is, immediately deciding to buy something whenever and wherever they want it. Of course, the term means relatively little in the grand scheme of things; many people across all demographics make use of online platforms and portals to buy goods, while delivery services like Just Eat prove popular for all ages. But the term forces you as a business to ask serious questions about your own service, and if you are really making the most of your platform.

Amazon’s Pioneering Online Ordering

Multinational online retailer Amazon is the grandfather of modern-day e-commerce, and its pioneering approach to online sales arguably gave rise to the ‘One-Click Generation’, both in name and substance. Amazon invented and patented a system by which goods could be purchased with one click – without entering card details or personal information. This made online shopping immediately quicker and easier for those with Amazon accounts.

Amazon’s patent for the one-click purchase expired in 2017, enabling more businesses to utilise their specific methods to streamline the online shopping experience. One of the key benefits of one-click purchasing is the reduction in ‘cart abandonment’, where online shoppers leave a site without checking out and buying items.

Boosting Your Business with the One-Click Generation

Impulsive purchases are easier, and shopping as a whole more convenient – making the ‘One-Click Generation’ a powerful demographic to cater for – even if they are somewhat apocryphal. By aiming to make your online shop as easy to navigate as possible, and as easy to transact with as possible, you can minimise barriers to sale, thus providing the same convenience as other storefronts and catering to the ‘impulse-buy’ in the process.

One of the best ways to start with this is to engage with your checkout process. Using open banking solutions to provide seamless transaction processes – including one-click payments – can bring your online storefront into direct competition with other businesses in your industry.

You can also introduce app functionality to your storefront; dedicated apps allow you to customise the consumer’s experience in an entirely new way. Shopping baskets and wish-lists have always been strong functions, but tracking customer search patterns and provided personalised suggestions can make shopping even easier – and also allow you to upsell passively.