Comment: Are Gen Zs really any different?
During my lifetime retailers and other consumer-focused businesses have been perennially obsessed with appealing to the youth market. This is despite the fact that at any particular point in time this younger grouping will only account for a modest amount of overall household spending.
This cult of youth has arguably never been stronger than in the current market. Digital has undoubtedly fuelled this scenario. The perception is of an increasingly digitally-focused cohort who do everything different – via screens – compared to those Luddites in the older generations. We’re predominantly talking about Gen Zs but also to a lesser extent Gen Alphas who are supposedly even more acutely different – and hard-core screen-based – than the rest of us.
Yes, they are different in some ways. Consider recent Cap Gemini research that suggests ‘Social commerce is the retailer’s route to Gen Z’. Its findings show this group is leading the way in shopping through social media channels, with a hefty 53% buying new products this way. But hold on a minute it also finds 45% of Millennials do just the same and even 31% of those old-timers Gen Xers are in on the action.
Gen Zs were also the grouping that was going to spell the death knell for physical retail as they switched their purchases to online channels. The reality is that things have not panned out quite this way and there is much evidence that the younger groupings are a strong driver of traffic in shopping centres. Just as with previous generations they are coming around to valuing that well known youth activity of hanging around the mall.
Never Miss a Retail Update!Just as with previous generations they are attracted to these physical environments because they want to try things on in person, they want to touch and feel products, and they want to view a brand’s products in a different, i.e. real world, way.
Where their behaviour differs to some extent is in the fact that these physical activities very much go hand-in-hand with their online actions whether that be TikTok, Instagram or Snapchat. It’s up to retailers and landlords of the shopping centres to integrate the channels together. Although having a social presence is not absolutely essential as Lush is incredibly successful with younger customers and it shuns all forms of social media.
Much has also been made of the environmental considerations that Gen Z’s take into account when making purchases. It has been found that as many as 80% have purchased second-hand goods and 68% identify as eco-friendly shoppers. These people are the drivers of the circular economy, and the older generations are in the follower camp, according to various surveys, but these youngsters are also the biggest buyers of fast fashion. The same shopper happily consumes products from both ends of the market.
This all sounds rather inconsistent. And it is. But is it different to any other generation? Whichever grouping you take will have these same inconsistencies. There has never been a one-size-fits-all behaviour across any generation.
The one conclusion that I’m particularly comfortable with making is that Gen Z and Alpha are leading the way in some aspects of life but generally all other generations are on the same journey. But hasn’t this always been the case?
Yes, the Gen Z grouping will shift from representing around 8% to 20% of UK retail spending between now and 2030, according to Mintel, so their behaviour is meaningful, but it still leaves 80% of the market largely in the hands of older consumers. And as we move towards this date, five years out, the other generations will have been changing their behaviours, with some of it in-line with the Gen Zs.
The reality is that you can read all the surveys you like that suggest retailers need to adapt their activities to satisfy the behaviour of the radically different younger generations but I’d argue that there are actually many more similarities than differences between the camps. Focusing too much on the cult of youth can be a time-consuming, expensive, and ultimately futile exercise for retailers.
