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The big picture: There has been a general post-pandemic push for more in-person social and work-related events, particularly from Gen Z.

鈥淢arketers should consider all of the little corners of the internet where Gen Z spends time,鈥� said our analyst Blake Droesch on Gen Z鈥檚 path to purchase. 鈥淏ecause Gen Z is so digitally savvy, there鈥檚 more value in these different microcommunities.鈥�. Perhaps that鈥檚 why brands like e.l.f. Beauty, are exploring livestream content on the platform.

Their parents are primarily millennials and Gen Zers. Gen Alpha鈥檚 product discovery primarily happens on digital. YouTube is the dominant platform where they discover new toys, far outpacing traditional TV and gaming platforms, according to a May 2024 Precise TV and Giraffe Insights survey.

Zooming out: Netflix鈥檚 recommendation engines, which already use AI and machine learning, are a vital cog for discovery on its platform as consumers prioritize platform recommendations over word of mouth. 45% of Gen Zers frequently decide what to view based on an algorithm or a 鈥淔or You鈥� page, per Toluna.

Gen Zers are the most open to on-device AI capabilities, with only about one-third seeing no value in integration for smart home devices (34%) or smartphones (32%). Our take: A focus on opt-out options and AI tools for information access and creative use could help tech players attract wary consumers.

While marketers often focus on Gen Z to target lifetime shoppers at a young age, this generation lags in brand loyalty鈥攖hese shoppers are 33.9% more likely to have abandoned at least one brand or business over 12 months, according to a Capital One Shopping survey. 鈥淭he majority of RFPs that come in are for Gen Z,鈥� said Marian Thomas, director of partnerships, research and measurement at Zynga.

Gen Z still leads BNPL user growth, but providers shouldn鈥檛 count out other generations. In 2024, the yearslong trend of Gen Z propelling BNPL user growth will continue. The number of Gen Z users will increase 15.5% this year, far outweighing the user growth among millennials (1.8%), Gen Xers (5.6%), and boomers (6.4%).

鈥淲hile scaling and driving adoption of our video formats is a key focus area for Roblox in 2025, we鈥檙e also focused on building and scaling unique formats 鈥� to help brands reach and engage the Gen Z audience on Roblox,鈥� the company said. 48% of US Gen Zers played Roblox in 2024, per CivicScience.

TikTok continues to attract a lot of attention, both good and bad. The hype around its heavily engaged and coveted Gen Z audience is real. But concerns over alleged privacy violations have made it a target for regulators, and user trust of the platform has suffered as a result.

Our take: Walmart sees its metaverse partnerships as central to its ability to attract younger audiences, particularly Gen Zers鈥攎any of whom are present and engaged on platforms like Roblox and Minecraft. It鈥檚 not alone: Brands like Alo Yoga and Fine鈥檙y, as well as retailers like Ulta, are turning to Roblox to build communities and appeal to a new generation of shoppers.

What鈥檚 at stake: Mastercard wants to win favor with digitally native Gen Zers. Nearly half of Gen Zers prefer using new and innovative payment methods, per Mastercard research. And 62% of Gen Zers want to manage all of their payment methods in one place. Personalization is also more than twice as important to Gen Zers when choosing a payment method.

How Gen Z and millennials are forcing a realignment. This deck can help you: develop a media strategy and allocate budgets for campaigns (brands and agencies). Click here to view our full forecast for Canada social network users.

Gen Z is strongly embracing the shift to social media and creator content. Consumers are largely receptive to brands that partner with creators and influencers. Creator and influencer content can be more relevant and less intrusive than studio-produced ads. Creators and influencers are effective at driving purchases, especially among Gen Z and millennials.

Vitamins are the most popular supplement across generations, although more baby boomers (56%) than Gen Z (48%) use them, according to a recent YouGuv report. Other supplement usage varies by age group. Minerals like calcium and magnesium are favored by 34% of baby boomers, while 24% of Gen Z take proteins and amino acids.

Retailers must continually test and adapt their strategies to find what resonates with consumers ahead of the holidays. An extended holiday season requires a dynamic approach to promotions, while brands aiming to reach Gen Z should use creators and video ads. Here are three pieces of advice on a successful holiday ad campaign from Meta and two of its advertising partners, 鈥嬧�婳gee Beauty and AS Beauty.

Gen Z in particular ranks messaging (including WhatsApp) as one of the top five channels for urgent brand communication鈥攎ore than social media or web chat. 37% of US adults said they feel most connected to online communities through WhatsApp鈥攐n par with Substack and ahead of YouTube or Facebook. That emotional connection raises the stakes even further.

Likewise, Conagra singled out high-protein snacks as a $3.9 billion opportunity as more Gen Zers and millennials embrace 鈥渂etter for you鈥� products. Our take: Shoppers鈥� interest in healthier foods comes at a challenging time for the food industry, which is under pressure from the 鈥淢ake America Healthy Again鈥� movement.

The response is sharpest among Gen Z鈥�40% say they鈥檝e walked away from brands over DEI rollbacks, twice the rate of millennials and over four times that of boomers. Our take: By caving to pressure and scaling back DEI, Target not only alienated customers but also came across as inauthentic鈥攃ompounding its challenges.

Gen Z shoppers particularly rely on the opinion of online strangers. Gen Z consumers say online reviews are the most important factor when shopping, per a June 2024 report from NielsenIQ and World Data Lab. 87% of Gen Zers say online reviews had at least a little influence over their decision to purchase a product, according to January data from CivicScience.