While many elements go into shoppers’ buying decisions, the factors that determine whether an item is put into the basket or back on the shelf go well beyond promotions, price and product placement. During the holidays, when retailers typically earn 40% or more of their annual revenue, it is critical to customize the shopping experience to your target customer demographic.

The new “2017 Holiday Retail Outlook” report — created with research and insights from Alliance Data Card Services, Epsilon, LoyaltyOne and Conversant — explores the considerations influencing retailers as they head into the all-important holiday shopping season, including how consumers’ generations affect their shopping habits. Research tells us that generational norms play a significant role in buying behavior.

Within each generation, buying habits vary significantly due to life experiences and the relationship with technology — which plays a more powerful role than ever in the buying process — from research to purchase. The “2017 Holiday Retail Outlook” shows that brand experience must be individualized and customers cannot be treated uniformly, as each age group will be weighing a unique set of store and product attributes before heading to the checkout.

As baby boomers age, their purchasing is more selective and may be less of a factor for retailers to consider this holiday season. But Millennials, who represent a large segment of the purchasing public, are changing the traditional path to success for retail businesses.

Data reported in the “Holiday Retail Outlook” report shows that members of this group — ages 18 to 35 — are impacted by more influences than other age groups, weighing price and value along with both functional and emotional aspects of the shopping experience, all of which determine where and how they spend their money. Millennials are the only demographic to rate recommendations from friends and family high on the list of influencers, but they don’t rely exclusively on this source for information.

Of this group, 75% said they are very likely to shop at a retailer if in-store technology is available, and 71% use their smartphones to look up product information while they are shopping in the store.

As Millennials age and shift from incidental purchases to large-ticket items, retailers need to connect now with Generation Z. Members of this group — ages 6 to 20 — aren’t yet contributing largely to the overall spend, but they are heavily influencing how others spend their holiday ­budgets.

According to the “Holiday Retail Outlook” report, 93% of those surveyed said Generation Z members influence purchasing decisions on categories including clothing, footwear, accessories and cosmetics. Members of this youngest shopping group are a pragmatic generation and share certain consumer characteristics with baby boomers and the older Silent Generation (those over age 71), particularly a strong consideration for quality and value.

The “Generational Perspective” report from Alliance Data found that Millennials are fascinated with the availability of technology in-store, but members of Generation X — younger than boomers but older than Millennials — also share this fascination. As well, Gen X, more than any other generation, is looking for innovation to make their lives — and shopping experiences — easier. In fact, 40% of those in Generation X say fast checkout is an important factor in their purchase decision. Speed and convenience now compete with price as priorities for these time-starved shoppers.

The “Generational Perspective” report also explores what influences consumers’ decisions about where to shop: Payment security (89%), easy brand interactions (76%) and transparent promotions (71%) are priorities for everyone. But when asked about their memorable shopping experiences, all generations ranked customer service highest. While these factors are the foundational guides for delivering exceptional shopping experiences, understanding how each generation’s life stage and lifestyle dictates shopping behavior allows you to deliver relevant solutions that will build your brand and increase your wallet share.

Here are five tips for getting in sync with your customers, regardless of their generation.

• Smooth the path to checkout. Especially during peak holiday times, optimize in-store and online shopping experiences. Customers should be able to quickly navigate your brand, get through checkout and get on their way.

• Prioritize a few key experiences. Use journey maps and data insights to identify and prioritize your customers’ most enjoyable — and frustrating — experiences to inform marketing, merchandising and operational decisions.

• Be a time-saver. Amp up online efforts early in the season, then add benefits like in-store pickup, easy gifting and other time-saving, feel-good benefits to drive last-minute impulse ­purchases.

• Wrap your arms around your Best. Understand which customer segments drive the highest value to your stores today (and in the future), and shape your store experiences to meet their needs.

• Activate frontline employees. Your employees have a direct effect on your customers’ experiences. Reward them for relationship-building actions, like solving a customer problem or recommending products.

By pursuing this customer centric approach, retailers can increase their bottom line and have a truly joyous holiday season, this year and beyond.

Caroline Papadatos is senior vice president of LoyaltyOne Global Solutions. She can be reached at [email protected].