How Gen Z Values are Shaping How We Live, Shop, and Consume

Individuality. Authenticity. Inclusivity.

These are just a few of the traits that describe Generation Z, the people aged 10 to 25 who were born between 1997 and 2012. With more than 68 million people in the U.S. who are members, Gen Z is on track to be the country’s largest consumer group, potentially spending more than $200 billion a year. With their purchasing influence, it’s important for brands and marketers to understand what Gen Z is all about.

Who are Generation Z?

As the most ethnic and racially diverse group in U.S. history, Gen Z represents the first time that white males are in the minority. This factor has a major effect on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and Gen Zers’ expectations on DEI.

Because digital has been part of their world from the beginning, they expect technology and the digital world to provide convenience, accessibility, and opportunity—valuing experiences over ownership, opting for renting as opposed to buying a home, ride share services as opposed to buying a car, and subscription services for movies, music, food, and more. They want to take part in online learning and community hubs.

They’ve also grown up expecting to have ready access to, well, everything, expecting to be able to satisfy any desire or need—education, information, or entertainment—with just a few taps. And even as the first digital natives, Gen Z values their offline lives as much as their online ones and navigate freely between both worlds.

Beth Warren, Creative Realities senior vice president of marketing and a retail expert, hosted a recent webinar for AVIXA and chatted with Gen Z students from the University of Central Florida to learn more about what motivates this next generation of buyers.  Here’s what they had to say.

Growing Up in a Digital World

Never knowing a world without digital applications, Gen Z is shaping the digital narrative. From the way commercial products are created and innovated to the way content is produced and presented, Gen Z has a major impact in every sector.

They also have clear-cut expectations of digital being a part of every aspect of their life.

The Value Equation - What is important to Gen Z

This is an ambitious group of people and 80 percent are more driven than Millennials—people born between 1981 and 1996. Rather than work for a company, 72 percent consider themselves to be entrepreneurs and half would like to start their own businesses. Their mental and physical health plays a big role in these decisions, and they’re not willing to sacrifice that for the demands of a job.

Individuality is Sacred

While Gen Z may be a large demographic, they crave individuality. Growing up with social media, they haven’t felt the pressure to conform to societal expectations. Social media has enabled them to see other people they can relate to, and they realize they can be their true selves. The omnipresence of social media gives them validation of their feelings, likes, and dislikes.

Authenticity Above Augmented

Gen Z craves authenticity in their personal, educational, professional, and shopping lives.

Authenticity carries over into how brands must present themselves to attract Gen Z. Traditional clothing brands with size 0 models may not fare as well as brands that are portrayed by models who look like their customers. Influencers with millions of followers will not carry the weight of a micro influencer with 10,000 to 20,000 followers. In addition to Gen Zers knowing influencers with large followings are getting paid to endorse a product, their celebrity status makes them unrelatable to most people in this group.