z definition
Every era has its own trendsetters.
In the past, our country would be rudely distinguished by age groups, such as the post-70s, post-80s, post-90s, and even the post-00s who have now stepped into society. Internationally, it is usually not divided by 10 years, but by a cycle of 15 or even 20 years, such as the well-known Generation X, Generation Y, and Generation Z that we want to be the best today.
The definition of Generation X, Y, and Z has never been consistent, and there are slight differences in different countries and different research institutions, and today AsiaBill will interpret the "Global Generation Z Consumption Insight Report 2024" released by FastData, using the global general standards used in it to divide generations, namely:
Generation X: Born between 1965 and 1980.
Generation Y Millennials: Born in 1981 and 1996.
Generation Z: Born between 1997 and 2012.
The current "version" about generations has been updated to Generation A.
Generation Alpha: Born in 2013 or later.
Z forces
Generation Z, the generation born between 1997 and 2012, i.e. between the ages of 12 and 27, is gradually becoming an important force in the consumer market. At present, the global Gen Z population is 2 billion, accounting for 25% of the total population2%, accounting for more than a quarter, is the world's most populous generation.
According to the report, the proportion of Gen Z population varies significantly between regions, and Africa is currently the "youngest" continent on the planet, with the young population of Gen Z accounting for 33% of the total African population7%, whether business, cultural or political, a huge proportion of the young population, means a huge potential for growth.
But this process may take decades, and then we may see the rise of the African economy, and the growth of the economy will also lead to the growth of consumption of all kinds.
Africa, Asia and Latin America account for nearly two-thirds of the world's Gen Z population, making them important regions for companies to do business globally. Although Europe and North America do not have a high proportion of young people, they still have the world's leading economic development level and world-leading consumer culture, and their spending power is very strong.
Therefore, young consumers in these two regions are also very important, after all, they are the leaders of the global consumer goods trend, and they are also the preferred target markets for many brand merchants to deploy overseas, and the common perception of the cross-border e-commerce industry is also the same, but now many businesses are also looking at emerging Southeast Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and other markets.
z personality
Generation Z, while having a huge population, also has unique consumption concepts and behavioral habits, which has a profound impact on the consumer market.
Generation Z's consumption concepts and behavioral habits are different from previous generations such as X and Y, they pay more attention to personalized, experiential and emotional consumption, they are a generation that is constantly changing, more globalized, and more influenced by social **, the pursuit of uniqueness, experience first, complex feelings about money, but also more willing to assume social responsibility.
AsiaBill will switch the perspective of cross-border merchants and interpret the personality characteristics of Generation Z, which are more relevant to us, hoping to give merchants some inspiration.
[Generation Change].
Live in the moment: 44% of Gen Z are more likely to believe that enjoying life at a young age is more important than working hard.
More self-conscious: 53% of Gen Z are more self-conscious and interested in pursuing non-traditional career paths.
Preference sharing: 67% of Gen Z have shared their consumer experience on social media, and anyone can participate in commercial marketing activities of consumer goods on their own.
Gender-neutralization: Gen Z is 78% more likely than other generations to wear comfortable, gender-neutral or traditionally designed clothing for the opposite sex
Rejection of the filter: Gen Z of 1 3 refuses to accept the heavily retouched characters that Gen Y loves, and instead embraces their true selves and the world.
PS: The quest for personal style has also led to overconsumption, with Gen Z being 2% more likely to buy clothing per week than others6 times.
Belief change: Gen Z is 29% less likely than millennials to identify with religion and instead establish individualized belief principles.
[More influenced by social media].
Breaking Restrictions: Gen Z is more likely than older generations to be influenced by social media, often across gender, race, language, and country.
Key to decision-making: 37% of Gen Z say social** ads have the most influence on their purchasing decisions.
Review impact: 31% of Gen Z read positive reviews on social media and are influenced to purchase goods or services.
All-encompassing: From travel and food to fashion and digital, to gaming and sports, social media influences every aspect of Gen Z's purchasing decisions.
[More pursuit of uniqueness].
Unique values: Many Gen Zers have a strong desire to stand out and make the world feel unique, with more than a third of Gen Zers believing it is important to have unique values.
Influencing demand: Gen Z's demand for the uniqueness of their product choices is unusually strong, impacting their needs when purchasing goods or services.
Open-mindedness: Being unique doesn't mean Gen Z boycotts mainstream brands, they are also open to buying well-known brands and wearing products with their brand logos.
[Experience first].
Pay for experiences: More than a quarter of Gen Z respondents strongly agree that they would rather spend money on experiences than products.
Experiential consumption: Gen Z's preference for experiences over material possessions is changing the competitive landscape for consumer goods brands and retailers, with a focus on creating engaging and memorable shopping experiences.
Offline optimization: Brands and retailers can engage Gen Z consumers by offering unique in-store experiences, interactive product demos, and personalized service, increasing not only overall customer satisfaction, but also brand loyalty.
E-commerce strategy: Gen Z expects a seamless and innovative e-commerce shopping experience, with brands and retailers using AI for personalized recommendations, augmented reality for virtual try-ons, and simplified payment systems that are more appealing to Gen Z.
z Revelation
Over time, it is expected that by 2030, Gen Z will become the most powerful group in the world, and if it continues to serve the needs of Gen Z, it will seize future growth opportunities.
Among them, businesses must focus on social media channels, no consumer group is as knowledgeable about digitalization as Gen Z, traditional marketing channels are declining, you must know that 71% of Gen Z's inspiration for buying a product or service for the first time comes from social **, and they are rewriting the rules of brand engagement.
At the same time, Gen Z is no longer as loyal to brands as Gen Y and Gen X, and they will not hesitate to abandon the brands they once loved once they show signs of violating ethics or anti-values.
So for businesses and brands to earn a place in Gen Z's minds, they need to understand the real drivers of their purchases, and they want to be relevant, inclusive, trustworthy, and transparent about themselves and their brands.
Gen Z is more than willing to pay a premium for what they care about, with half of Gen Z saying they are willing to pay 25% to 50% more for products that support a company they care about, with 91% of them willing to pay extra, compared to 72% of Gen Y (Millennials).
This suggests that brands will have higher profit margins if they gain recognition from Gen Z.
z (most) last words
Gen Z is changing the global e-commerce consumption scene.
In the era of the rapid release of Generation Y's consumption power, excellent e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and JD.com have emerged, and when Generation Z's consumption power begins to be released, some new e-commerce platforms have quickly gained a large number of fans.
For example, shein, which focuses on the fast fashion needs of young users, and another example is to harvest the global 4 in 16 monthsWith 6.7 billion users and challenging the global e-commerce landscape, Temu has risen rapidly driven by young people represented by Generation Z, which shows that Generation Z still has a strong desire for fashion consumption despite its low income.
For merchants and brands, in order to capture Gen Z consumers, they may wish to reflect enough uniqueness, pay attention to the value brought by experience, invest more energy in social marketing, respond to the morality of young people, and tell their own brand story clearly.
At the moment, merchants may not be able to reap too much of the premium paid by Gen Z, but AsiaBill firmly believes that with the cultivation of good brands over time, when their spending power increases, merchants will have unexpected gains.