One platform for all? It sounds good in theory, but rarely works in online retail.
This was recently demonstrated by the DHL E-Commerce Trends Report 2025, which surveyed 24,000 online shoppers in 24 markets.
New this year: for the first time, the report focused on cross-generational shopping habits in e-commerce.
And the results could give many online retailers pause for thought, because according to DHL Shopper Trends 2025, Generation Z, millennials and boomers not only shop differently – they also react completely differently to design, payment and communication.
While younger shoppers value mobile convenience, older target groups place more importance on transparency and security.
For retailers using Shopware 6, this means that only those who understand which target group has problems where can prevent conversion drops and improve customer experiences in a targeted manner. An overview.
Gen Z & Millennials: Focus on mobile convenience
These generations expect speed and simplicity: a seamless shopping experience across all devices, personalised recommendations, social commerce impulses and payments in seconds.
Retailers who use Shopware 6 benefit from flexible API interfaces and mobile features – but only if performance remains stable across all devices.
Gen X & Boomers: transparency, security, traceability
Older buyers are looking for trust – not adventure. They value clear product descriptions, transparent prices and secure payment methods.
A single technical error during checkout can quickly lead to abandonment. Retailers who focus on stable processes and visible trust signals benefit from long-term customer loyalty in this generation.
The problem for many retailers: average values are misleading
Many retailers rely on overall metrics such as conversion rates or shopping cart abandonment rates.
But a single average value obscures where problems actually occur – for example, when mobile checkout runs smoothly for Gen Z, while the baby boomer generation fails at the payment method.
Without monitoring, such differences remain invisible – and decisions are based on false assumptions.
Conclusion: Monitoring secures competitive advantages
Taking generational differences into account is no longer just a marketing trend, but an operational necessity.
Shopware 6 provides the technical basis for granular data analysis – and uses intelligent monitoring to reveal where conversions are failing or payments are being abandoned.
INTELLIFANT goes one step further: the solution detects anomalies in order numbers across channels and reveals where operational deviations occur – for example, when sales channels unexpectedly deliver fewer orders or order patterns suddenly deviate from normal behaviour.
This allows technical problems to be isolated, which may later be reflected in certain customer groups or generations.
The result is greater transparency about system stability – and thus the basis for making data-driven decisions before conversion or revenue suffers.
Because in modern e-commerce, those who understand their data also understand their customers.
