Guess what? They aren’t kids anymore.
The oldest of Gen Z—also known as Zoomers, or the first real “digital generation”—are turning 27 this year. Which means they’ve been making buying decisions for years now.
And after Adobe reported that 10% of Zees might’ve replaced Google with TikTok, they’ve unintentionally grabbed the spotlight again.
Which made The Crew wonder…
What is Gen Z’s online consumer behavior really like? And what can you do to adapt to this soon-to-be dominant consumer generation? So we took a quick glance at the data.
🖱️📈 Clicking on each individual chart will take you to its interactive looker studio board.
The Anatomy of a Zoomer-Approved Brand
Here’s an overview of what Zoomers focus on when buying a product:
🖱️📈 Tip: You can see more in-depth breakdown for each consideration by clicking on the chart.
Guess they have something in common with every generation.
We’d all like to have access to affordable products that don’t surrender quality or health. Simple, huh?
On top of that, the younger generation tends to be more loyal to a particular brand so you’d want to nurture something more than a one-purchase-stand with your customers.
But at the same time, Zees are quick to move on if the products aren’t available. That short attention span could keep you on your toes and your product on the shelf.
Finally, for Gen Z brand principles and emphasis on the environment and sustainability can play a deciding factor. In fact, they’re often willing to pay more for sustainable products, especially if they’re coming from the following industries:
So if you fall into one of these categories, target Zoomers, and have a premium price… sustainability could be your value prop.
Is Gen Z Replacing Google With TikTok As a Search Engine?
Well yes. And no.
If you want to reach Zoomers, you definitely want to be on TikTok. But at the same time, the claims that the platform is replacing Google as the main search engine are way off the mark.
Here’s what Adobe’s report actually said:
While 10% of Gen Z might turn to TikTok first, that’s 90% of those who’ll still “google it.”
However, a few months ago this percentage would be higher in favor of Google—so TikTok might keep biting into Google’s share of the organic search pie.
🤳 When searching on TikTok, consumers are looking for DIY, fashion, beauty, workout, and similar content, which looks like an opportunity to get your brand out there.
Especially when you look at what consumers look for when using TikTok—with DIY, fashion, beauty, workout, and more all looking like an opportunity to get your brand out there.
How Will Zoomers Approach Social Media In 2024?
Two words: motion picture.
A whooping 72% of Gen Z spend time on social media watching videos. Then you have almost half watching influencer or creator content—which is also mostly video. Or 42% who watch livestream videos.
On the other hand, 41% are typing search queries and 36.6% are using social media for product discovery. Pretty telling.
Now let’s see where they spend this time:
Contrary to popular opinion, YouTube is the most popular Gen Z platform in the US.
TikTok is second with 58%, but Snapchat and Instagram are close behind. The only platform that doesn’t seem to be that appealing to Zoomers is Facebook—with 67% not using it at all.
Bottom Line: The Demand Of Gen Z
So how do you reach Zoomers with your content and ads?
If you trust data, you might focus on a couple of things:
- Branding: Make sure to incorporate storytelling that highlights your brand’s core principles and practice what you preach when it comes to sustainability.
- Top of the funnel: Gen Z will look for answers in the form of video content, so make sure to optimize your videos—both paid and organic—as answers to particular queries.
- Reach: Experiment with video content on TikTok and YouTube, to get your brand out there. Going by the reports, that’s where Zoomers hang out the most.
And of course, keep looking out for new trends, platforms, or advertising channels as Zoomers will be the first to jump on the bandwagon.
Sources
The report sourced data from the following:
