Gen Z = Buying Power

According to a report by Bloomberg, Gen Z’s had a total of $360billion of disposable income in 2021. According to the UK Office for National Statistics, 42% of adults ages under 34 still live at home with their parents. Couple that with Gen Z’s determined side hustle culture and the monestisation of content across their most used social media platforms, it’s not difficult to see why they are accumulating so much disposable income.

Gen Z have tremendous buying power and businesses are constantly looking for the best way to market to this growing audience. The struggle lies with finding out how to convince Gen Z to buy since their product discovery and purchase behaviour differs so drastically compared to previous generations.

Where are they?

Now, it’s not difficult to find Gen Zs. They have their own hangout spots online, social media. Most Gen Zs have devices glued to their hands, having been the first generation to grow up solely in the digital age. Platforms like Tiktok and Instagram (if you can use it cleverly) are the best way to reach that generation. Their friends, their relationships and their community all lie on these platforms, so being able to successfully tap into a place which feels like home, is a sure fire way of building awareness to this audience.

Tiktok

Tiktok can seem daunting to some brands, especially heritage luxury brands who have only recently undergone a digital transformation to tap into a younger audience. However, the key to success on Tiktok is just to play by the rules.

There are several best practices for brands who are present on Tiktok but ultimately the best way to learn is to use the platform as a consumer. So my best initial advice for you is to actually spent some time on Tiktok.

Then take a look at:

• The videos that are popular

• The style and tone of voice across all creators (not just brands)

• The FYP and get to grips with how the algorithm might work

• The checkout process on Tiktok Shop

• Shopping tabs on ecommerce pages

• Tiktok Creative Centre for all top performing ads; which can be filtered by industry, goal and time frame.

Once you’re fully up to speed with how the platform works, here are the key things to keep in mind when creating both organic videos and videos for ads.

Influencer Marketing

Gen Zs are community driven and influencers have worked hard and carefully to help build armies of followers and fans over the past 5-10years. These communities are based on mutual interests, morals, personalities or aspirations. Influencers want to feel like friends to their followers and the main pillar of that friendship is always trust.

And the term 'influencer' was not by accident. Because of that trust, these content creators have incredibly sway and influence over their community. And that is why they are invaluable to brands. According to Grand View Research, influencer marketing for global fashion could reach £12.4billion. Partnering with just 1 influencer could open your brand up to millions of new consumers who may never have heard of your brand before. And because they trust the influencer promoting your brand, and the promotion has been filmed with authenticity, you are likely to see a huge uplift in brand recall and purchases.

The skill with influencer marketing is the find the right creator. You should be looking for someone who embodies your brand and whose community is your ideal audience. But also bare in mind that many influencers will only promote brands who align with their morals and style so research is key.

Ethics and Morals

The ethics and morals of a brand, especially in luxury, can make or break a purchase decision for Gen Z. They are more in tune with brands’ environmental impact, ethical employment, diversity, equality and inclusion. Therefore, if you are operating sustainably or have particular initiatives in place to become more ethical, you need to be shouting about it.

Kantar reported that in the UK, Gen Z are 1.4x more likely to pay a premium for a product which is deemed eco-friendly.

Gen Zs want to be informed and feel proud of the purchases they are making; so the more transparent you can be, the better. They will respond better to brands who are seeking to win their trust through genuine interactions instead of relying on big brand names or brands with Hollywood style creative.