Introduction
Because the number of people who buy online is growing, and they use social media to research and connect with their favorite companies or brands, especially among young people in Generation Z, this article compares online shopping habits with Gen Z and other generations.
What is Generation Z?
Today’s youth are dubbed “Generation Z” by demographic scientists. According to the Pew Research Center, Gen Z refers to people born between 1997 and 2012, who succeeded the Millennial generation, which was born between 1981 and 1996. The oldest members of Generation Z are now 25 years old, and many have graduated from college, married, and begun new families (Warren, 2022).
Their online life
According to an Adobe report from 2018, Generation Z spent 10.6 hours per day connecting online with any digital device, while millennials spent 8.5 hours per day. Generation Z, in particular, spends 5.9 hours per day on their phones, while millennials spend 5.2 hours per day. Furthermore, 54% of them (Gen Z) use multiple devices at the same time, with an average of 1.8 devices. Furthermore, Gen Z spends 3 hours per day on social media, which is more than the 2.25 hours spent by millennials. The World Economic Forum then observes that the majority of Gen Z people in North and Latin America and Europe have the most social accounts and tend to switch from Facebook to other applications, such as Instagram.
Online Shopping
The expectations from Gen Z that Gen Z’s social media brings have always been changing.
Overall, Generation Z consumers prefer lower prices and higher-quality goods. Even more than older customers, they value brands that are dependable, clear, and long-lasting. Then, as time goes on, social media becomes an increasingly important tool in purchasing decisions. They use it to interact with brands, find inspiration, and research products. To look more closely, it is said that young people consider lower prices and higher quality essential for brands. 62% of them say that price affordability is important when making purchasing decisions; on the other hand, overall, 53% agree. What is more, 32% of Generation Z suppose that the brand should be reliable when buying, and 24% of all ages agree with it. Additionally, all ages of customers suggest that they want to get products from a company that has the same values as them; thus, Gen Z records a lower number of boycotts; in other words, they would not usually boycott.
According to research on social media, the large majority of Gen Z (61% follow their favorite brands on social media; however, that is only 34% of older generations. About one-third of Generation Z and Millennials supposedly purchase products from brands that use social media positively.
Additionally, the most popular social media platform for Gen Z is YouTube. Following that, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and Snapchat. For the older generation—Millennials, Generation X (from 41 to 56 years old), Boomers (57–75), and Silent (over 76), Facebook is still the most useable social media. Yet, for Gen Z, Facebook is not so popular compared to them (Gutierrez, 2021).
Conclusion
- Generation Z is made up of people who were born between 1997 and 2012.
- They use digital devices for over 10 hours a day to connect online.
- They spend three hours or more on social media every day.
- They want sustainability, reliability, and clarity from companies when they purchase.
- They connect with their favorite brands through social media and get shopping ideas from them, so if the brand is more positive to use, more people buy products from it.
- The most popular platform for them is YouTube.
References
Gutierrez, S. (2021). Social Media and Shopping Habits. [online]. Available at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/curiosity/gen-z-social-media-and-shopping-habits/ [Accessed 18 January 2023].
Walker, B. (n.d.). How Much Time Does Gen Z Spend Online? [online]. Available at: https://wearearise.com/generation-z-spend-10-6-hours-a-day-engaging-with-online-content-every-day [Accessed 17 January 2023].
Warren, K. (2022). What Is Generation Z (Gen Z)? [online]. Available at: https://www.investopedia.com/generation-z-gen-z-definition-5218554 [Accessed 17 January 2023].
