Marketers can no longer afford to undervalue Generation Z.
At an estimated 60 million, they make up 25.9 percent of the U.S. population. And while they have a reported $44 billion in buying power alone, when you factor in their influence on parent and home purchases, their real spending power is closer to $200 billion.
Who are they? Gen Z includes those born in the mid 1990s to the early 2000s. In other words, Gen Zers are today’s teenagers and the fastest growing cohort of tomorrow’s trendsetters.
Here’s what marketers should know if they want to be “in” with the cool kids.
Bonus: Download a free guide that reveals how to increase social media engagement with better audience research, sharper customer targeting, and Hootsuite’s easy-to-use social media software.
A long list of Gen Z stats that matter to marketers
They want marketers to get personal
Gen Zers have never known a phone that wasn’t smart or an ad that wasn’t targeted. They know brands have more access to customer data, and in exchange, they expect highly personalized interactions.
In Google’s report on Gen Z, 26 percent of teenage shoppers said they expect retailers to offer a more personalized experience based on their shopping habits and preferences. By comparison, only 22 percent of Millennials and 11 percent of Baby Boomers share that expectation.
But, they’re protective of their privacy
Gen Zers may crave hyper-personal experiences on social media, but they’re also keen to protect their privacy. They’re more inclined to cover the webcam on their laptops.
Marketers need make sure they connect with Gen Zers on their own terms so that they don’t come across as creepy or too invasive. Less than one-third of teens say they are comfortable sharing personal details other than contact information and purchase history, according to IBM’s survey Uniquely Gen Z. But 61 percent would feel better sharing personal information with brands if they could trust it was being securely stored and protected.
They give feedback
Though they prefer to keep private, Generation Z is offering more feedback than any other cohort. Almost half of Gen Z shoppers say that they give feedback often or very often.
Most of the time they’re writing comments on retailer websites, but they’re also reviewing on Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat, so brands with strong social listening strategies will curry more follower favor.
They’re more guarded on social media
Having learned from previous generations that what goes on the internet stays on the internet (forever), Gen Zers prefer to browse as anonymous voyeurs.
Apps such as Snapchat, Whisper, Yik Yak or Secret are popular among teens for their ephemerality and privacy. On sites like Twitter or Instagram, teens may use aliases or create separate accounts to maintain different social media personas. And where private channels are available, such as Instagram’s direct message option, teens will probably use it instead of publicly tagging friends.
More established sites like Facebook, where it’s harder to conceal your identity and hide from parents, are less popular with teens. While they still use the site, 34 percent of US teens think Facebook is for “old people.”
However, anonymity creates a challenge for brands trying to create personalized content for Gen Zers. To develop accurate audience personas, brands should focus on private and direct channels to engage one-on-one with teenagers. Facebook Messenger has proven so effective for brands and users that Facebook is planning to spin-off a standalone Instagram messaging app called Direct.
They use different networks for each stage of their shopping journey
Market research shows that 85 percent of Generation Z learns about new products on social media and are also 59 percent more likely than older generations to connect with brands on social, too.
Instagram is the most popular app for brand discovery, with 45 percent of teens using it to find cool new products, followed by Facebook, which comes in at 40 percent. Before making a purchase, Gen Zers are two times more likely than Millennials to turn to YouTube.
YouTube is also the platform of preference when it comes to shopping recommendations, ranking first among Generation Z with 24 percent, followed by Instagram at 17 percent and Facebook at 16 percent.
Meanwhile, in real brick-and-mortar stores, teens are most likely to turn to Snapchat to document their shopping experiences.
Understanding how teens use social media…
