How Coach Hooked Gen Z on Shopping
Coach may have cracked the code on what gets Gen Z to spend time in stores: experiences.
Coach Play stores are dedicated to providing experiences that resonate with the local demographic. For example, one Coach Play store in Malaysia is positioned in an old magazine printing company, offering customers a chance to customize a tote or screen-print a T-shirt. In an interview with Glossy, Giovanni Zaccariello, Coach’s SVP of Visual Experience, described the vision behind Coach Play stores: “There’s a sense of discovery, there are things for them to do, and there’s more space for people to just hang out.”
Coach Play stores are built with dwell time in mind. The dwell time is often 4-8 times greater in Coach Play than in a typical Coach store and as much as 12 times that of local stores.
While dwell time is not the top metric for brands, shoppers buy more when they stay longer. Coach is seeing this firsthand with its Coach Play stores, having deemed the concept “financially scalable.”
Coach Play is also their number one tool for recruiting Gen Z shoppers. By offering them experiences, Gen Z spends more time on the store floor, which translates to sales and a stronger emotional connection with the brand.
Coach isn’t just selling bags. They’re also bagging Gen Z’s loyalty and attention.
