Move Over Millennials, Here Comes GenZ.
Insights about the next generation that will make you rethink your marketing.
They’ve been characterized as a “throwback generation” more similar to Baby Boomers than Millennials. They prefer to work, save money, and not get stuck or trapped like their predecessors.
If the defining moment for Millennials was the 9/11, for GenZ, there were two: The Great Recession that started in 2008 and the launch of the iPhone in 2007.
The recession led to a heightened awareness of the importance of not taking work or money for granted, while smartphones provided a means of escape and deep immersion, almost as an antidote to their self-imposed pressures to succeed. The combined influence of these two forces is what is making this generation unique.
Other labels for GenZ include Generation Z, Centennials, iGen and the Founders. No one year marks where Millennial finished and GenZ started, but it’s generally agreed to be the mid-90’s. According to Nielsen, who defines them as born between 1997–2015, GenZ is now the biggest single population segment.
At 26% of the population GenZ is now the biggest segment.
I’ve looked at insights about GenZ from a variety of research studies to help understand how to build brands that members of GenZ will relate to. The majority of the studies focused on teens living in the US, although some are more global and include kids as young as 11 years-old.
Sources include the Center for Generation Kinetics, The Nielsen Total Audience Report, Altitude, Google, Adobe, AwesomenessTV, Accenture, Sensis and Defy Media. I’d highly recommend looking at the original research.
Sure spending is good, but earning and saving is even better.
21% already have a savings account before are 10.
GenZ are actively working to earn money at a young age, whether through chores, employment, side jobs, or freelancing. Roughly the same number of 14–21 year olds (77%) are working as the number of Millennials who are working, who are ten years older.
They are already thinking about retirement and 12% have already started saving for it, in fact 21% had a savings account before they were 10 years old.
They don’t like the idea of personal financial debt and 23% of them say it should be avoided at all costs. In contrast, Millennials consider college debt to be a part of life.
I am the boss of me (when it’s the sensible thing to do.)
Being an entrepreneur is not about idealism, it’s a practical means to earning money.
While GenZ like the idea of working for themselves, the majority are risk-averse, practical, and pragmatic. Their entrepreneurialism is more of a survival mechanism than an idealist reach for status or riches.
Millennials were criticized for their lack of focus. GenZ have been strongly shaped by their individualistic, self-reliant Gen X parents and they’re committed to avoiding the mistakes their meandering millennial predecessors made.
They are concerned about career stability and are aiming for jobs in growing, fields that might resist automation like education, medicine, and sales.
Using our words.
GenZ believe that communicating with older adults will ensure their future success.
GenZ think the two most important skills for succeeding in the workforce are communication (57%) and problem-solving (49%) — the very skills that employers frequently said Millennials needed to have in order to do well.
The two skills GenZ said they wished they were stronger in are public speaking (50%) and communication Skills (45%), with problem solving less important (29%).
The majority say that their ability to communicate clearly in person, specifically with older adults, is the number one skill that would ensure their future success.
Nearly half of GenZ students feel what they learn outside of the classroom is more important to their future careers as what they learn inside. They use online video to learn new skills with of them 85% saying they watched at least once in the past week.
Shopping takes a village.
GenZ rarely make a purchase without getting feedback from friends, family or other customers.
Gen Z have a spending power of $200 billion.
As consumers they place a greater emphasis than Millennials on listening to friends and family and turning to social media for inspiration before deciding what to buy.
Many (30%) prefer to get information on a brand from a real customer of the brand and 19% from an online influencer, meaning a well- known blogger, Youtube or internet personality.
Almost half (49%) say they often or always get input from friends and family before making a purchase. Teens decide whether a product is cool if: 1. their friends are talking about it, 2. they see an ad about it, 3. if it’s something personalized to them.
Clicks, bricks and so much more.
GenZ crave retail experiences that are extensions of the brand.
They have a carefully tuned radar for being sold to and a limited amount of time and energy to spend assessing whether something’s worth their time. Once something has demonstrated attention-worthiness, GenZ can become intensely committed and focused.
While price is important, they crave retail experiences that are extensions of the brand and still like to visit real stores to make their purchases (digital retailers Amazon and ModCloth have both been experimenting with physical stores).
Retailers should reimagine them to create a digitally connected, interactive and hyper-personalized physical shopping experience. The challenge for retailers is to move away from selling products and toward creating experiences and telling stories — finding innovative ways to participate.
The natives are wireless.
GenZ grew up on mobile and most teens spend more than three hours a day watching online video on their phones.
While Millennials were mobile pioneers, GenZ teens are mobile natives. Technology is Gen Z’s native environment. They feel that they are more creative than past generations and more passionate about making things better and smarter.
They got their first phone when they were in middle or even elementary school and along with getting driver’s license and graduating from school is one of their top three milestones.
Most teens (71%) spend more than three hours a day watching online video on their phones. They prefer to connect with people via text (38%) over a messaging app (18%) or in person (15%). Over half of online purchases are through mobile phones with the most popular being video games (38%), books (36%), apparel (33%) and electronics (31%).
The social media fix.
Snapchat has become a major source of stress for many teens.
Always-on connectivity is their “fix.” Across the board, today’s teens are less likely to try any form of drug than previous generations, perhaps because their dopamine rush is available through their phones.
They need social media to build their personal brands but resist being defined by it. Yet half of teens (53%) say the number of subscribers or followers they have on social media is important to them.
Their go-to platform, Snapchat, originally started out as a fun, low pressure social network without likes and comments, but the addition of alternative popularity metrics such as streaks, scores, and trophies have transformed it into a major source of stress.
Youtube rules.
Youtube is the dominant platform for GenZ.
Most (79%) of teens have a Youtube account. Many (30%) believe YouTube ads are more trustworthy than any other source of advertising, including television, print, radio, and social media.
Of social media accounts teems spend the most time on Youtube (25%), Facebook (24%) and Snapchat (16%). In their spare time they listen to music (69%) watch Youtube videos (60%), play video games (51%).
Much (71%) of teens’ typical entertainment consumption is streaming, and one-third is viewed from a mobile device. When it comes to video content, shorter, online videos are better than traditional TV shows at meeting various emotional needs among teens such as learning (58%), laughing (53%) and relieving boredom (49%).
Being different is being normal.
This generation is working toward a future where all are treated equally, regardless of race, gender, or sexual orientation.
To GenZ, differences are not something to be erased, but celebrated. Even in their formative years when the pressure to conform is at its peak, this generation is working toward a future where all are treated equally, regardless of race, gender, or sexual orientation.
This is the generation that’s going to make multicultural mainstream. Soon the majority of kids in the US under 18 will consist of what we now consider minority groups and GenZ role models are best captured by diverse figures who are anything but one-size-fits-all. They favor Black Lives Matter (80%), Transgender rights (74%), and Feminism (63%).
Millennials grew up seeking success by being jacks of all trades, GenZ differentiates themselves through their choice of style, quirks, hobbies, entertainment, career aspirations, and beyond.
It’s bad out there and they believe they can make it better.
GenZ think the world scarier now than it was five years ago, but know they can change it.
They are serious yet upbeat. Most GenZ think the world is a scarier place now than it was five years ago, but also feel make it a better place is a sign of a successful life.
While they are certainly stressed, they are not cynical. This is a guarded group that is growing up seeing the world for what it is and because of that they believe they are the ones who can truly change it for the better.
They say the important issues in their lives are: Good grades (52%), Family (51%), Having enough money (49%), Friends (48%), Getting a good job (41%), Managing stress/health (40%).
The we-first generation.
GenZ is more we-focused than me-focused.
While Millennials were more concerned with indulging themselves and seeking out their passions, Gen Zs are more interested in finding their purpose in the world.
They still want happy families and nice jobs, of course, but whereas Milleanials were more self- focused, GenZ is more other-focused and to them signs of a successful life are: A happy family (70%), Loving your job (63%), Being a good parent (62%), Freedom (60%), Finding purpose (58%), Helping others (55%).
Gen Z does not think celebrities are good role models and that marketers wanting to influence Gen Z will prosper by breaking the rules and reflecting the real world — balancing aspirational imagery with bravery.
While it’s impossible to characterize a whole generation through broad trends like these, there does seem to have been be a significant shift in values over the past few years brought about by very real changes in the world — and perhaps the biggest changes are just around the corner.
Developments in AR and VR are about to hit the mainstream and it’s GenZ that will most embrace this new technology and the possibilities it unleashes. How will their values shift when the virtual or augmented world is so much more interesting than the real world? How will it change education, employment and entertainment?
This, together with the rise of the robot, increasingly powerful AI, and the massive geopolitical shifts this next generation will have to grapple with, will provide a unique set of challenges for GenZ to tackle.
Mark Simmons is a branding and marketing strategist based in Los Angeles and can be reached at mark@punkbranding.com
