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Why this matters: Gift cards reign supreme for holiday shopping and are highly popular among Gen Zers. 39% of holiday shoppers plan to spend nearly half (48%) of their total holiday shopping budget on gift cards, per Blackhawk Network. Gen Zers drive this spend: These shoppers were expected to increase their gift card purchases by 12% on gift cards in 2024.

Instagram is winning Gen Z. In 2022, TikTok had more Gen Z users than Instagram, per our forecast. But that鈥檚 no longer the case. Instagram will see higher YoY growth rates among this generation for each of the next four years. By 2029, we expect Instagram to have almost 9 million more Gen Z users than TikTok will have in the US.

Gaming remains critical in the lives of younger generations, with Gen Z spending 2.5 hours daily on Roblox. Gen Z and millennials are particularly likely to discover brands through mobile game advertising compared with older generations, and 45% of consumers from these demographics are interested in buying products while gaming.

McDonald鈥檚 targets Gen Zers with limited-time Chicken Big Mac offering: The QSR is supporting the launch with a campaign that highlights dupe culture, livestreaming, and other generational touchstones.

What鈥檚 in it for Snap: The deal deepens Snapchat鈥檚 toolbox for its target audience鈥�Gen Z. Snapchat has more than 900 million monthly active users, made up mostly of the millennial and Gen Z 鈥淪napchat Generation.鈥�. Almost 80% of adults ages 18 to 24 use Snapchat, and 60.8% of teens ages 12 to 17 use it, per our forecast.

Gen Zers are also the likeliest cohort to say they鈥檙e actively considering a switch in the coming year. Apple and PayPal are the top two providers that Gen Zers would buy from based purely on brand trust. Apple is especially popular: 40.5% of Gen Zers would buy from it, versus just 19.8% of consumers overall.

Gen Z isn鈥檛 far behind. More than half (55%) of Gen Zers express trust in AI, but a notable 21% remain skeptical. Older generations push back. Only 25% of baby boomers and 37% of Gen X agree that AI is accurate. Sycophantic AI could risk deepening bias for younger users, and for older, more skeptical generations, flattery may appear manipulative鈥攆urther widening the trust gap.

Social commerce still has plenty of room to expand in the US. With discovery and inspiration as the key characteristics of social commerce, TikTok won鈥檛 be Amazon鈥攂ut it will bring in new Gen Z shoppers.

And a study by digital banking services provider Apiture found that 30% of Gen Zers and 21% of millennials aren鈥檛 aware of credit unions as an option to meet their banking needs.

More than two-thirds of Gen Zers and millennials subscribe to a free, ad-supported streaming plan. Mobile-friendly, ad-driven content could be the sweet spot for capturing users鈥� attention without triggering subscription fatigue.

Likewise, 1 in 5 Gen Z and millennial consumers think that skincare and beauty treatments such as manicures and hair appointments are indispensable. Money matters: While consumers remain as interested in beauty as ever, they are becoming more mindful of how those purchases affect their wallets.

Gopuff enhances retail media capabilities to help advertisers reach Gen Z, millennial audiences: The retailer hopes the moves will differentiate it in a crowded market.

Only 14% of Gen Zers will stick to their budget at live events, while  convenience, impulse buying, and experiential value lead the remaining 86% to go over budget, per a survey of Gen Zers by Merge. Our take: Partnering with Live Nation Canada offers Square a space to test out its newest tech on large crowds in a confined space expecting fast turnaround times.

With the average US tax refund totaling over $3,000, Gen Zers鈥攁nd all banking customers鈥攚ould benefit from their financial institutions (FIs) helping them put that money to work. And if their FIs don鈥檛 give them that advice, they鈥檒l turn to other sources like social media.

Adult Gen Zers are the most likely to listen solely to ad-free digital audio. This is the case for 33% of listeners ages 18 to 24 and 25% of those ages 25 to 44, according to CivicScience. Whether they pay for their subscriptions or use a shared family account, one-third of Gen Zers are not hearing ads unless they鈥檙e listening to podcasts. Read the full report, Digital Audio Listener Demographics 2025.

For each consumer who supports brands stepping away from DEI initiatives, four to five would reward companies that stand by them. 77% of consumers are willing to abandon brands that reverse support for diversity. 40% of Gen Z adults have stopped using or purchasing from brands who contradicted or reversed their DEI efforts鈥攃ritical as Gen Z represents the primary source of digital buyer growth.