Report: Locus Robotics says Gen Z shoppers are 4x more likely than Baby Boomers to buy with plans to return

Locus Robotics released new research showing that younger shoppers are reshaping purchasing and returns behaviors across apparel, beauty, and skincare in ways that are creating new fulfillment requirements.

The company's research found that, notably, 61% of Gen Z apparel shoppers "bracket" their purchases, buying multiple sizes or styles to keep just one, compared to only 15% of Baby Boomers. Younger shoppers are also far more likely to discover products through social media and purchase them quickly after discovery.

For retailers in these categories, Locus Robotics said that those generational behaviors reinforce the need for flexible automation systems that can adapt as volume, order profiles and channels change.

Generational buying habits are changing order fulfillment

Locus Robotics provided the following key findings in its new study:

• Bracketing is generational, and for many it's a habit: 61% 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: 79% 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: 33% 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: 48% 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.

“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.”

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.

The report said that this growth is heavily propelled by creator marketing; YouGov data shows 41% of Gen Z shoppers discover new products via influencers, with apparel and skincare leading the brands they consider.

At the same time, Locus Robotics said that returns continue to represent a significant operational and financial challenge. The National Retail Federation (NRF) and Happy Returns highlight 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.

Click here to download the full report.