Generation Z is growing, and members are transforming the global market landscape. And marketers are doing what they can to adapt to Gen Z’s spending power and preferences.
Many marketers are working diligently to understand Generation Z. Most marketers struggle to keep pace despite their best efforts. If marketers continue to do so, they risk missing out on business sales and revenue growth opportunities.
The Gen Z group represents one-fourth of the U.S. population.
Why Marketers Must Understand Generation Z and their Spending Power and Preferences
Research indicates Gen Z has annualized spending power of over $143 billion. And this figure appears likely to increase in the foreseeable future.
Meanwhile, marketers are increasingly seeking ways to connect with millennials and Zillennials (a micro-generation born between 1993 and 1998). However, Generation Z is a group, unlike millennials and Zillennials.
With a clear understanding of how Gen Zers connect with brands, marketers are well-equipped to foster meaningful relationships with them. Here are some insightful tidbits, courtesy of a slide presentation, Meet Generation Z: Forget Everything You Learned About Millennials, from Sparks & Honey:
- They are strong influencers with regard to household purchases, including where to go on the family vacation and what car to buy.
- GenZ have disposal income, receiving an average weekly allowance of almost $17, and spend most of this money on food and drinks. They love to shop on-line for clothes and games.
- This cohort are foodies, and prefer home-cooked dinners over-processed microwaved meals. On the flip side, they are less active than other generations with teen obesity on the rise.
- They’re close to their families. In fact, many of them live in multi-generational households with Millennial siblings and grandparents making up part of their extended family under one roof.
- They often communicate using emoticons and emojis instead of words, and speak really, really fast.
They are the next generation for businesses to tap into. Knowing who Gen Zers are and what makes them tick is critical in connecting with them.
Understanding Gen Z’s Spending Power and Preferences: 3 Factors to Consider
Marketers should not rest on their laurels relative to Gen Z. Instead, marketers must learn about Gen Z’s spending power and preferences. That way, they can find the best ways to engage with Gen Zers.
Ultimately, several factors impact Gen Z’s spending power and preferences. These include:
1. Personalization
Gen Zers put personalization front and center. They want to work with brands that understand their financial habits. And they prefer brands that help them guard against debt.
When it comes to personalized marketing for Gen Zers, consider how a product or service limits the risk of “spending regrets.” For instance, marketers can use campaigns to highlight their products and services’ immediate and long-term value. These campaigns can show Gen Zers how they can reap the benefits of various products and services now and in the future. The result: marketers can promote products and services that align with Gen Z’s spending power and preferences.
2. Social Media
Delivering interactive social media content via Instagram can help marketers engage with Gen Zers. Marketers can leverage Instagram templates, for example, to share stories about their products and services. These stories enable Gen Zers to learn about the stories behind companies’ products and services and the value they provide. They can ultimately foster connections with Gen Zers and lead them to invest in these products and services over rivals.
Marketers should utilize TikTok to interact with Gen Zers, too. TikTok videos can provide instant gratification and entertainment for Gen Zers and others. They can also help marketers showcase a brand’s authenticity, resulting in unparalleled engagement with global audiences.
3. Digital Marketing
An end-to-end digital marketing strategy can make a world of difference, particularly in Gen Z engagement. To build a digital marketing strategy for Gen Z, marketers must consider the best ways to engage with audience members. From here, marketers can establish a strategy to connect with Gen Zers. Furthermore, marketers must develop key performance indicators to track the results of their strategy and ensure they can get the most value out of it.
Typically, Gen Zers prefer to engage with brands via mobile devices. Meanwhile, marketers must tailor content to these devices. They must keep the lines of communication open with Gen Zers and optimize their content for a wide range of platforms.
The Bottom Line on Understanding Gen Z’s Spending Power and Preferences
Gen Zers are unique, and marketers must plan accordingly. By considering the spending power and preferences of Gen Z, marketers can produce quality content that matches audience members’ expectations. Plus, marketers can generate Gen Z insights and continuously learn about this group. Understanding Gen Z’s motives ensure marketers can deliver content that consistently hits the mark with Gen Zers.
Get started on Gen Z marketing today. Marketers can learn about Gen Zers and analyze their spending power and preferences. They can then build marketing strategies and monitor their results. Finally, marketers can fine-tune their approach to foster engagement with Gen Zers and develop long-lasting partnerships with them.
This is a guest post by Amanda Winstead, a Zillenial who can’t be reached via cable ads. Amanda is a writer focusing on many topics including technology and digital marketing. Along with writing she enjoys traveling, reading, working out, and going to concerts. If you want to follow her writing journey, or even just say hi you can find her on Twitter.
You can set up a time to chat with me about your marketing challenges using my calendar. Email me jeffslater@themarketingsage.com Call me. 919 720 0995. The conversation is free, and we can explore if working together makes sense. Watch a short video about working with me.
Photo by Julián Gentilezza on Unsplash
