To mark the release of Trends 18 – our examination of the trends to watch in 2018 (available to download here) – today we start a series of charts previewing insights from the report, beginning with getting to know Generation Z.
As Gen Z start to garner purchasing power, they are attracting the type of attention that has long been bestowed on Millennials. And although these two generations have plenty of behaviors and attitudes in common, Gen Zers display a few distinct traits that all marketers should be watching in 2018.
Alongside being the first generation to have crossed the Mobile Tipping Point, Gen Z absolutely love social media – spending longer on it daily than any other of our tracked generations, and turning to it for digital behaviors wherever possible, including online research.
In fact, Gen Z are the only generation that are more likely to turn to social media to research products, brands or services, than search engines (with a 6 percentage-point lead over Millennials also), demonstrating the engagement power of this particular touchpoint.
What’s more, Gen Z under-index for most of our tracked ‘traditional’ research channels like price comparison websites and consumer review sites (where other generations are more enthusiastic), while over-indexing consistently for ‘newer’ channels including vlogs, video sites and mobile apps.
