What does it take to win Gen Z’s attention?

Gen Z drives shift to digital, community-focused retail

Retailers are rethinking strategies to attract Gen Z, with a focus on digital experiences, community engagement, and authenticity.

At the Retail Asia Summit 2025 in Singapore, Linn Hoffstrom, regional head of expansion East Asia at H&M, noted that a quarter of the Asia Pacific population has grown up with a mobile device in hand, shaping a generation that researches and sets preferences online before entering a store.

To meet these expectations, H&M uses RFID technology to track inventory in real time, enabling customers to locate items across both online and in-store channels.

The brand has also introduced innovations such as self-service checkout, RFID-enabled payments, enhanced fitting rooms, and click-and-collect services, all supported by data-driven staff operations.

For DMK, community and authenticity are central. The brand initially grew without influencers, relying on customers to act as nano influencers before the term existed.

Since 2020, DMK has partnered with over 400 influencers, but they are treated as part of the community rather than as advertisers.

Chief Creative Officer Eileen Goh cited Rebecca Yu, who has worn DMK shoes daily since 2021 and even dressed eight bridesmaids in DMK shoes for her wedding, as an example of long-term brand loyalty fostered through authentic engagement.

Meanwhile, Metro Singapore focuses on community-driven initiatives to connect with younger consumers while serving its core older demographic.

Henry Christian, head of loyalty, marketing & partnerships at Metro Singapore, described efforts such as a booth at Singapore Management University offering career guidance and the local replication of the Cake Picnic, where home bakers showcase creations. “People trust people,” Christian said, highlighting the retailer’s belief in grassroots engagement over conventional marketing.

Embedding brand values in daily operations is another key strategy. H&M evaluates employees not just on experience but on personality and passion. “Fifty percent is on your personality, on what you believe in, how you express yourself and your passion,” she said. “It’s not only about your hard targets.”

DMK emphasises authenticity in hiring and customer engagement, whilst Metro combines data insights with direct customer interactions to shape its communications.

Speed and responsiveness are critical in keeping up with trends. Hoffstrom said, “If you don't have the speed factor, bringing something new to the table as soon as a trend is emerging… then we're doomed, to be honest.”

Christian cautioned against overgeneralising younger consumers, emphasising that authenticity and direct engagement are more effective than marketing by age group.