Gen Zers can be just like every other shopper, until they’re not

HIGH POINT — Gen Z — that up-and-coming buying group — is looking for the same qualities that most consumers seeks when shopping for brands, but the road they take to find those items may be quite different.

In a recent Gen Z survey, promotional and loyalty program provider Snipp found that more than half of Gen Z find high quality (56%) and reasonable prices (55.6%) are significantly more important than several “softer” attributes such as fun style (15.2%) or locally produced (7.4%).

However, brand discovery comes not from in-store visits or via retailer websites, but through social media outlets such as TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and digital ads.

More than half of the female respondents (56.1%) go to TikTok first, then Instagram (37.6%). For male shoppers, YouTube is the first line of discovery (44.6%), followed by online, social, TV and streaming advertisements (34.7%).

Brick-and-mortar stores make up a small portion of Gen Z’s product search: 5.6% for females and 8.9% for males.

Product research is important to Gen Z, with more than 62% saying they thoroughly research on their own before buying. Of much less importance are the opinions of friends (34.4%), influencers (18.2%) and salespeople (11%). But Gen Z does put stock in online reviews and ratings, making it the top research source at 67.4%.

Maybe it’s because of the younger age group that makes up Gen Z, but this cohort is more likely to pay with a debit card (65.8%) or cash (33%) then a credit card (20.2%). Other popular payment forms include Paypal (22.2%) and mobile wallet (17.4%).

The study urges retailers to make Gen Z’s preferred payment methods available because nearly half (48%) will abandon a purchase if their option isn’t available.

No matter how they pay, Gen Z consumers enjoy shopping. The survey showed that more than half (54.6%) are actively making purchases two to five times a week. And if you want to offer Gen Z a deal, email (51.6%) and texts (38.2%) are the best means to reach them.

For its report, “Inside the Gen Z Mind,” Snipp conducted an online survey of 500 16- to 26-year-olds in March 2023.