Locus Robotics finds Gen Z shoppers are four times more likely than boomers to plan to return purchases

Younger shoppers are reshaping purchasing and returns behaviors across apparel, beauty, and skincare in ways that are creating fulfillment requirements that automation can address, found Locus Robotics Corp. The company today released research noting that 61% of Gen Z apparel shoppers “bracket” their purchases, buying multiple sizes or styles to keep just one, compared with only 15% of baby boomers.

Younger shoppers are also far more likely to discover products through social media and make purchases quickly after discovery, said Locus. For retailers in these categories, those generational behaviors reinforce the need for flexible automation systems that can adapt as volume, order profiles, and channels change.

“Retail fulfillment operators are facing an entirely new reality, where demand patterns can change in hours and days, not seasons,” said Rick Faulk, CEO of Locus Robotics. “We’re seeing this firsthand with a record number of peak robot requests to help retailers around the world respond to demand surges. The generational shifts underscore why warehouses need automation that can flex with volume, adapt across workflows, and evolve as consumer behavior and business needs continue to evolve.”

Locus Robotics claimed that it is a leader in “Flexibility-First Warehouse Automation,” helping enterprises perform in an uncertain world. Powered by the LocusONE platform, the Wilmington, Mass.-based company combines real-time orchestration, advanced robotics, and AI-driven execution to automate fulfillment operations at scale.

Study finds generational shopping differences

Bracketing is generational, and for many it’s a habit: Sixty-one percent of Gen Z and 52% of millennials have bracketed an apparel purchase, compared with 37% of Gen X and just 15% of baby boomers, creating additional returns volume that retailers must absorb without slowing or disrupting order fulfillment.

Social discovery makes timing harder to predict: Seventy-nine percent of Gen Z shoppers and 75% of millennials have bought an apparel, beauty, or skincare product after discovering it on social media, compared with 26% of baby boomers. More than two-thirds of those buyers purchased within three days, creating the potential for sudden demand spikes as trends take off almost overnight.

Availability depends on keeping inventory moving: Thirty-three percent of shoppers said an unavailable item, size, shade, or formula led them to abandon or delay a purchase, the most frequently cited reason, while 17% require same- or next-day delivery. That makes inventory availability and replenishment just as important as shipping speed when consumer demand shifts unexpectedly.

Physical stores remain central to the omnichannel journey: Forty-eight percent of respondents’ most recent apparel, beauty, and skincare purchases were made in a physical store, making it the most frequently used purchase channel overall. However, shopping preferences vary significantly by generation, requiring retailers to support an increasingly complex omnichannel mix of store, e-commerce, marketplace, app, and social-commerce demand.

Apparel, beauty, and skincare remain among retail’s most important categories. According to Circana, U.S. beauty sales grew 7% across both prestige and mass retail channels during the first half of 2026, with skincare among the strongest-performing categories. This growth is heavily propelled by creator marketing. YouGov data found that 41% of Gen Z shoppers discover new products via influencers, with apparel and skincare leading the brands they consider.

At the same time, returns continue to represent a significant operational and financial challenge. The National Retail Federation (NRF) and Happy Returns focused on this tension, noting that 82% of consumers view free returns as a critical consideration when shopping online, effectively forcing e-commerce brands to absorb heavy reverse-logistics margins to maintain loyalty.

Locus explains methodology

The data is based on a quantitative survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers 18 and older examining purchase frequency, shopping channels, delivery expectations, and returns behavior.

Locus Robotics said its technology gives organizations the agility to adapt to changing demand, labor availability, and growth requirements. The company has more than 150 unique customers serving over 1,000 brands across more than 360 sites worldwide. It helps retail, healthcare, third-party logistics (3PL), and industrial brands scale efficiently and achieve faster time-to-value through its robots-as-a-service (RaaS) model.