Gen Z has its own language of sorts. So it’s hardly surprising that the biggest generation in history also has its own way to shop.
Bread Financial, which caters to a growing number of Gen Z clients, is paying attention. In a recent national survey of some 1,700 people, the financial services firm explored how consumers from different generations manage and spend their money.
Nick Antonelli, senior VP and chief marketing officer of Bread Financial, sees a few lessons for retailers and other businesses that want to gain Gen Z’s trust.
For example, Gen Zers—born from 1997 to 2012—are more likely to buy things to keep up with online trends. More than 60% of survey respondents from that cohort said they purchased popular or even viral items, versus only about 15% of baby boomers. And almost 40% of Gen Z respondents admitted to buying a viral product—say, a Stanley water bottle—just so they could post about it.
As Antonelli can attest, such behavior is no mystery. Gen Z are digital natives who grew up on social media, with its influencers, FOMO, and other mixed blessings.
For any company that wants to build trust with Gen Z, it pays to be plugged in to the trends they’re following, Antonelli advises. That’s easier said than done, but wellness is important to this generation, along with secondhand shopping and plant-based food.
Antonelli, whose firm’s brand partners span retail, travel, and entertainment, also suggests joining forces with reputable online influencers. For its part, Bread teamed up with Taylor Price, a Gen Z “financial activist” popular on TikTok and Instagram, to develop content on topics such as smarter spending and building a solid credit history.
“You have to lean into the channels and provide an authentic voice and content and tools,” Antonelli tells me from Bread’s HQ in Columbus.
Speaking of authenticity, younger people do their homework on brands, seeking those that align with their value system, Antonelli observes. If a company doesn’t embrace diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, as well as sustainable business practices, it can be a trust buster.
“That’s one core element that really speaks to, ‘Are you an authentic company, an authentic brand, and I’m only going to do business with socially responsible brands.’”
Another survey finding: People are spending extra on convenience, with more than half of respondents saying they had food delivered because they felt lazy. (Fair enough.) At 70%, Gen Z was the age group most likely to do so, compared to roughly 25% of boomers.
Online buying during the pandemic accelerated the shift toward convenience, Antonelli explains: “It’s exponentially driven how we and others have evolved our products around that immediate gratification, lack of patience.”
Gen Z might be even less patient than the rest of us. “Waiting till tomorrow, particularly for younger generations, feels like an eternity,” Antonelli says. “The convenience trend—and particularly, again, with Gen Z—is driven by growing up with real-time everything.”
No matter what it sells, a company risks losing Gen Z’s trust if it doesn’t offer convenience, Antonelli warns. “That then tells the consumer, ‘Well, you’re not meeting my needs, you don’t care about what I need.’”
Increasingly, convenience is table stakes for businesses, he adds: “If you don’t adapt, then you’re going to get left behind from a revenue perspective.”
Gen Z expects products and services to be available and reliable, Antonelli says. When rolling out its mobile app last year, Bread obliged by emphasizing self-service—and providing information in the easily digestible online format that younger people have also come to expect.
“‘I want to be able to do everything I can without talking to a human,’” Antonelli says of that mindset. “Most generations don’t want to pick up the phone and talk to a call center, but Gen Z certainly doesn’t.”
No cap.
Nick Rockel
nick.rockel@consultant.fortune.com
