As the largest market segment, Gen Zers are overtaking Millennials. Researchers have spent years deciphering the technology-driven behaviour of the Millennial generation, which has changed industries, entire economies, civilizations, and our environment. It’s time to throw the limelight on the newest superstars, the first batch of people who were actually born into the digital age.
But as the COVID-19 epidemic abruptly struck the entire planet, this transition took a startling turn. What is the current state of the Gen Zers’ health amid this worldwide health crisis? We’ll go over the most recent Gen Z tendencies in this article so you may better understand your newest target population both before and after the epidemic.
Distrust Of Government And Other Organizations
According to a Pew Research study, 70% of Gen Z think the government ought to take more initiatives to address issues. The most recent Generation Z trends demonstrate how this age group is quickly gaining momentum and establishing itself in the current economy. The epidemic did nothing but intensify this trend.
According to a research from February 2021, 66% of Generation Z disagree that the government has done all possible to defend the nation. According to the same poll, almost 60% of this group believed that it would be challenging to trust the government after a pandemic.
According to a research paper, this mistrust can persist for a very long time. According to a study titled The Political Scar of Epidemics, which was released in the middle of 2020, people who experience an epidemic between the ages of 18 – 25 are more likely to harbour unfavourable views toward politics and elections for a considerable period of time after the epidemic has passed. This indicates that members of the older generation of Gen Z are less inclined to trust elections, show faith in their government, and approve of political elites.
The election of 2024 may be greatly impacted by this tendency. Millennials and Generation Zers made up 37percent of the total population in 2020 who were eligible to vote. That percentage will increase to 44% in 2024, with all of the rise coming from Gen Zers. Politics is not the only reason behind Gen Zers’ mistrust. Additionally, they are reluctant to trust brands. Only 39% of Generation Z internet users have confidence in a brand to protect their data.
Embracing Diversity And Social Justice
The Gen Z generation is the most internationally diverse ever. Gen Z members who identify as minorities make up 48% of the population, according to the Pew Research Center. In some places, this trend is particularly pronounced. For instance, just 40% of Gen Z people in the West are non-Hispanic white. This rises to 46% in the South.
According to research, this generation not only identifies as ethnically diverse, but also favours greater diversity in civilization as a whole. According to one study, 62% of Gen Zers think that society will benefit from greater diversity. Equality and social justice have also recently been stressed by Gen Zers.
According to a survey, Generation Z Republicans were significantly more inclined than some other Republicans to believe that Black people in America today are not treated equally with white people. According to a survey conducted by the social networking app Yubo, 88% of Gen Z believe that Black people don’t receive equal treatment. 90% of Generation Z endorse the Black Lives Matter movement, according to the Yubo poll.
Emerging Buying Power
According to AdAge, Gen Z presently has a direct purchasing power of $143 billion. In this generation, a few significant financial trends have evolved. Purchase Then, Pay Later (BNPL) programmes are extremely well-liked among Generation Z. According to projections, by 2022, more than 44% of Gen Z received from customers (who are older than 14) will have used a BNPL service more than once.
In comparison to 2020, 11% more Gen Z utilized BNPL during the busiest holiday shopping days in 2021. The most frequent way Gen Z report learning about new companies, brands, and goods is by speaking with family and friends. YouTube advertisements come in second, though. Compared to their older counterparts, the Millennials, Gen Z are less likely to follow the trend of doing all of their purchasing online. Shop-going is substantially more prevalent among Gen Z. Because they prefer to stand out rather than fit in, Gen Z are different from previous generations. For this generation, brands are a secondary consideration.
Immense Economic Power
You must now be wondering what Gen Z means for your company and why it matters to you as a business owner how these individuals live their lives. The answer can be found in this prediction: with 86 million people, Gen Z will overtake Millennials as the largest generation in America by almost 4 million people in 2020.
en Z is also anticipated to grow by 2 million more over the following two decades as a result of migration (Knoema, 2020). In other words, Gen Z is serious about business, and they will be the next group of clients you work with for a while.
Gender-fluid concepts
Because Gen Z is reportedly an age that is more accepting of non-binary items, we’ve seen how more and more companies are going to open up to gender-neutral products over the past few years. The influence of Generation Z also extends to enabling a fresh generation of appreciation that is not at all gender-specific. With this, a number of companies, including Sephora and Telfar, made significant strides toward a more tolerant and gender-neutral sector.
Binary-gendered alternatives are obsolete, as evidenced by numerous research. The custom option, which allows users to choose from 58 alternative identities, including androgyne, trans-male, and trans-person, was first introduced by Facebook in 2015. Since then, numerous brands and businesses from a variety of industries have followed suit. A cosmetics company called Milk Makeup then launched a makeup campaign in 2016 that featured everyone, from trans women to cis straight guys wearing makeup.
