Kate Box, Retail Director, Meta Australia
In today’s fast-paced world, Gen Z consumers are driving a shopping transformation guided by their values-oriented decision framework. This tech-savvy group uses social platforms to shop and expects brands to embrace diversity and create trust through both online and in-store channels. Marketers, take note: here’s how you can tailor your strategy accordingly.
Personalise and entertain
For Gen Z shoppers, it’s important the ads they are served are relevant and personal to their lived experience. In a recent Ipsos survey[1], just over half of all Gen Zers said they wanted to receive personalised recommendations from the brands and retailers they choose to engage with, so sending them ads that have little to no relevance is a major turn off.
Gen Z consumers are also looking for an enhanced in-store experience, with Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) elements sought after to share on social media. Almost half of this group want to get in on the act when it comes to creativity and co-create virtual products with brands or creators and social media influencers, whether it be in-person experiences or online.[2]
Take Hyundai for example, the car brand tested the impact of adding augmented reality ads to its usual Facebook and Instagram video ads, and discovered that the filter significantly lifted brand metrics, contributing to a 12.5-point increase in standard ad recall.
Prioritise authentic advertising content
Gen Z want brands to promote an inclusive environment by putting a focus on diversity in advertising[3]. Being trustworthy, authentic, and informative are the most important attributes of content being posted for Gen Z.
For these shoppers it is important that a brand shares the same values and beliefs as them and that they express their personality and style. The marketing content the brand shares should also be trustworthy, authentic, and transparent, as Gen Z will typically discover and evaluate brands and products based upon these criteria.
Amongst other passion areas, sustainability plays a big role for Gen Z consumers when deciding which brands to support. For example, KitKat Australia promoted a new sustainability initiative in Australia with Facebook in-stream video ads, which resulted in a 7.7-point incremental increase in awareness of its recyclable wrappers.
Establish trust through Creators
For brands to cut it amongst this generation of socially aware shoppers, Creators play a pivotal role. Half of the Gen Z recipients (58 per cent)[4] who were asked about their relationships with brands said they felt more connected to brands that work with a more diverse set of creators. They also felt that brands that do this understand them better.
Kate Gildea, Enterprise Marketing & Data Director, Australia & New Zealand at Estée Lauder notes creators are an integral part of Estée Lauder’s marketing strategy, and endemic to the beauty industry. The company has numerous creators on contract at any given time and they are leveraged across earned and paid media touchpoints. As a global brand, Estée Lauder can partner with local creators, like @deborahsymondoneil to build credibility in local markets.
The value of connection
Research also shows half of Gen Z (55 per cent)[5] feel it’s important that brands connect with them on social media and are almost twice as likely to find it important that a brand or retailer acknowledges their social media posts about their shopping experience.
This need for connection, representation and engagement comes from the willingness of Gen Z to share their shopping experiences online with their friends and seek their advice when making purchasing decisions. They don’t want to give props to a brand or retailer within their social network if the brand engages in any activity or behaviour that would reflect badly on them, in the belief that their recommendation is also an endorsement of that behaviour.
Physical and virtual stores should complement each other
Stores remain an important part of the shopping journey, as young shoppers constantly utilise online and in-store touchpoints interchangeably. Most Gen Z shoppers use online resources to do research prior to going to a physical store, while almost two thirds use online resources to do research whilst in-store[6].
Sydney-based handmade lolly company, Sticky, leverages the live stream and video functions on Facebook and Instagram to share their enchanting hard candy making process with their customers, ultimately leading to an influx of online shoppers and customers who are eager to visit their store in-person. By bridging the two shopping experiences, Sticky has developed a loyal customer base, many of those Gen Z.
In today’s world, customer priorities are constantly changing, and marketing must evolve to meet those new expectations. Think about integrating any of these strategies into your next marketing campaign to reach more Gen Z consumers.
[1] Retail Future of Shopping’ Study by Ipsos (Meta-commissioned online survey of 162 Retail shoppers aged 18-24, AU, March 2022)
[2] Retail Future of Shopping’ Study by Ipsos (Meta-commissioned online survey of 162 Retail shoppers aged 18-24, AU, March 2022)
[3] Impact of creator marketing on brand building and shopping’ Study by YouGov (Facebook-commissioned online study of 250 people aged 18-24, weekly users of Facebook and/or Instagram, followers of creators, AU, Sep 2021).
[4] Impact of creator marketing on brand building and shopping’ Study by YouGov (Facebook-commissioned online study of 250 people aged 18-24, weekly users of Facebook and/or Instagram, followers of creators, AU, Sep 2021).
[5] Transformation of the in-store experience’ Study by HarrisX (Facebook-commissioned online survey of 205 retail shoppers aged 18-24 in AU, Sep 2021
[6] ‘Transformation of the in-store experience’ Study by HarrisX (Facebook-commissioned online survey of 205 retail shoppers aged 18-24, AU, Sep 2021)