a glimpse into Gen Z spending behavior
+ the latest in consumer
A busy workweek calls for a curated summary instead of a deep dive. I’ve put together a summary of recent consumer news across sectors. But first, a pulse check on how our generation is spending our money. I realize that a core theme of this blog is exploring Gen Z behavior so here’s a quick update on what to know:
TikTok Shop serving as a new purchasing medium
Unsurprisingly, Gen Z is spending much of their disposable income on items via TikTok shop. While early 2024 was about identifying TikTok as a “shopping search engine”, pushing on Google’s turf, this year is about how TikTok is converting search to purchases. With more Gen Zers trusting influencers over other traditional marketing methods, our generation is comfortable with purchasing directly off an app if they know a product has “credibility”. US shoppers under 60 years old averaged $700 in spending last year, and this is likely to continue growing as TikTok shop fine-tunes their transaction channels and algorithms.
Living a Say-Do crisis
Additionally, we’re facing a “Say-Do” crisis, as shared in a recent Gen Z Nielsen report. This means that Gen Z says one thing but does another. For example, Gen Z shares a clear concern for climate and environmental sustainability yet still buys fast fashion. I’m assuming this is because affordability tends to be of higher importance to Gen Z relative to other attributes. However, I think this goes back to brands and retailers. Nielsen describes this idea of "stacking” attributes in a way that positions the product in a way that attracts consumers despite the premium price. There is clear evidence that brands can do this well - Patagonia, Tony’s Chocolonely, Mrs.Meyers are just some notable examples.
Using consumer behavior now to inform tomorrow’s spending
Looking ahead, in the next 10 years, some of the youngest members of Gen Z will be in early stages of adulthood. Priorities have shifted in this generation. While marriage and children are still important, they aren’t critical at that stage. Instead, we’re focused on financial stability, building a successful career, and investing in travel experiences. This means that brands and retailers need to keep this in mind when delivering products to this demographic.
I’m loving this Nielson report, as it carefully outlines that some of our spending on products now informs how we’ll spend our money as adults and even parents. For example, Gen Z is right now evidently bullish on “better-for-you” brands, specifically low-sugar, and high-protein. Thus, there are predictions that specific snack categories like yogurt and natural fruit snacks will see growth over the next decade as Gen Z parents will purchase these for their kids. This is just another indicator that we shouldn’t be looking at consumer behavior from the perspective of “now” but how these perceptions can instill consistent, long-term behaviors.
Read more on Spend Z
📰the latest in consumer
🤝Collabs:
Sargento Natural American Cheese launches three new products in collaboration with three brands: Frank's RedHot Hot Sauce Seasoning, Cholula Hot Sauce Seasoning, and McCormick Crushed Red Pepper
Krispy Kreme teams with Hershey to launch its Chocomania Collection
🛒Retail News:
Target adds 2,000 products to its baby category
Fragrance and hair care are some of the fastest-growing premium beauty categories, with 12% and 9% growth, respectively. This has led Walmart to bring four brands in these sectors into its accelerator program.
Macy’s launches a private label brand Arch Studio, focused on home goods as this market is stabilizing since the pandemic; Kohl’s has also launched two private label home brands, Miryana and Mingle & Co
🍫Food & Beverage:
Feastables is launching peanut butter cups
Chobani spending $500M to expand Idaho facility
Savor received investment from Bill Gates to commercially produce butter from carbon to provide a sustainable alternative to palm oil and other fats
Unilever is selling The Vegetarian Butcher and likely its ice cream business, including Ben & Jerry’s
Sauce Plus offers protein-packed sauces with 5g of protein and 40 calories per serving
Coca Cola expands Minute Maid into the alcohol scene with canned vodka cocktails (re: my previous blog where I highlight this as a 2025 trend!)
💄Beauty & Fashion:
Forever 21 just filed for bankruptcy (probably because it’s losing to Shein and Temu)
Skims just acquired Skkn
Sports apparel market is set to reach $173B this year
Old Navy’s recent growth has pushed forth a new line called “occasionwear” to provide affordable wear for weddings, parties, and more
🛍️things I’ve been loving:
I’ll always take my parents up on a weekend Costco excursion - nothing better than third-wheeling a grocery trip! But that means I get my pick of snacks 🙂
That’s It Fig Truffles - I love this brand. Nothing complicated, just a clean ingredient list with actual flavor
spiced lattes - other than a classic americano when I need coffee in my system ASAP, these lattes are for the soul. they are so warm and cozy, with a lingering scent of cardamom that is so comforting
giant pears - super hard for me to get enough fruit throughout the day and one of these keeps me almost uncomfortably full but satisfied knowing that i ate something other than snacks that day
💅🏽on deck:
This is probably so bad, but there’s a running list of things I’ve been MEANING to purchase so although not things “I’ve been loving”, they are things that I hope to give love to in the future
Salt & Stone’s gel deodorant in scent Santal (I’m still searching for my favorite and hoping this is it!)
an Aritzia coat - it’s just so professional and chic but always sold out :(
I’m victim to office air, which makes my face look super dull by the end of the day. Hoping to find a serum or something that keeps my skin hydrated throughout the day
heat protectant! i’ve been using this Revlon dry brush too much and i’m extremely worried i will be bald soon
Thanks for reading,
Sanjana