A generation born surrounded by laptops and touchscreen devices. One that hasn’t a hard time figuring out how to use a new device, and incorporates a brand new social media into their daily lives at the glimpse of an eye. Being the first digitally native generation by excellence, Gen Z’s are big consumers. And it doesn’t stop there. They likewise influence their parents’ shopping habits.
Business Insider drew attention to the fact this Generation Z has a spending power of over $140 billion. Retailers realized that fast enough to know they shouldn’t miss the opportunity to win such a young and promising public of potential customers.
However, what would be the best way for retailers to win Gen Z as their next customer? Moreover, how can they keep up with them? We’ll do a quick breakdown of who they are and in which ways retailers can approach them.
What You Should Know About Gen Z
We’ll begin depicting the main characteristics of Gen Z. For comparative matters, let’s draw a quick timeline. Baby boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, were called that way because of the significant number of births after World War Two.
They were then followed by Generation X, born between 1966 and 1980. Next came Generation Y, mostly known as millennials, and born between 1980 and 1995.
And this is where the line gets slightly blurred. Differently from Generation X, Millennials were extremely familiar with technology overall. Furthermore, they rely on the internet to find answers to their questions. And this leads us to the next generation, Gen Z, defined by people born fully digital-natives from 1996 on.
The main difference between Millennials and Gen Z’s? Generation Z never knew life without technology. This, therefore, has a huge impact on the way they perceive the world and, to what matters to retailers the most, on how they shop.
Gen Z’s Shopping Habits
Gen Z’s life revolves around social media. They like to speak openly about what they have been experiencing, turning Instagram and TikTok into their “live” journal. What’s more, they appreciate engaging in subjects that truly matter to them. They are worried about the environment, politics, and wellness.
Bringing that perspective to the market, we can highlight the fact that Gen Z prefers authentic and environmentally friendly brands. Thus, they are likely to eventually ask about the company’s ethics and values.
Moreover, putting social media under the spotlight again, they rather shop as their favourite influencers do. So instead of typing specific keywords related to what they are looking for on Google, they would rather start their customer journey on Instagram.
Let’s delve into the typical customer journey of a Gen Z.
What Does the Gen Z Typical Customer Journey Look Like?
Picture this girl named Sophie. She is 22 years old and is looking for a pair of shoes to wear for her sister’s graduation day. She’ll start browsing Instagram for references. When she finally finds a model she likes, she will look for the tag that redirects her to the brand’s page on Instagram.
Gen Z’s adore social proof, so the next step involves seeking feedback from other customers through the tags. Once she made up her mind, in the perfect scenario it would be possible to place the order directly on Instagram, without quitting the app.
But what if it doesn’t fit perfectly? Sophie realizes this is the first time she shops there, and she is not sure if the shoes are true to size. Therefore, she sends a DM asking if they offer exchanges and how their return policy works. An agent promptly replies, and Sophie is relieved to learn she can easily exchange the item if needed.
To conclude, the brand sends an email with the tracking number the next day, inviting Sophie to tag them and share a picture wearing the shoes as soon as she receives it.
This is how it goes from here: she will get likes for the picture, other people will see her content as social proof, and the brand will gain more followers, otherwise known as potential customers!
What Should Be Your Focus to Win Gen Z’s Hearts?
To sum it up, the best way to win Gen Z as your next customer is by focusing on an omnichannel customer service strategy. As they are extremely active online, they do expect their interactions to be as fast and efficient as the way they browse social media.
Therefore, if you do target Gen Z, think about being on their favourite and most used channels, interact with them as much as you can and don’t forget to get in touch with influencers.
Keep in mind that Gen Z’s attention span is quite short, thus they definitely hate to be kept waiting. In this case, having quick replies settled upon live chat and having a chatbot for when your agents are offline are good solutions.
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