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In April, Hollister launched its Feel Good Fest Music Program, a series of concerts taking place at high schools and other venues across the country, featuring Gen Z artists like Benson Boone, Boys World, and Claire Rosinkranz. This is part of a two-year initiative to reintroduce the Hollister brand to a younger audience.

Macroeconomic headwinds drive shoppers to hunt for a deal: Off-price retailers like Nordstrom Rack, Burlington, and TJX are thriving amid the current climate.

AI will become deeply woven into daily life in 2025. Autonomous agents, smart devices, AR glasses, search engines, and digital twins are making AI an ambient presence in how we work, shop, browse, and interact with the world.

This is true of Gen Zers in particular, but it also suggests that relational marketing could be key to acquiring customers across all age groups. It鈥檚 worth noting that these three factors far outweighed others like value alignment, special offers for new customers, a workplace鈥檚 relationship with a bank, or seeing an FI on social media. How do FIs break through?

Gen Z will be the primary growth driver, but cross-generational marketing could bring more older consumers to BNPL. The number of Gen Z BNPL users will grow by around 64% from 2023 through 2027 to nearly match millennial users. BNPL鈥檚 digital-first user experience and app-based shopping options are a natural fit for these digital natives鈥� lifestyles.

How to get there: FIs can make a few key changes to adopt the type of branch model preferred by Gen Zers. Create vibrant, casual spaces with digital signage, relaxed environments, and a coffee shop-like atmosphere. Utilize advisors, career guidance, kiosks, and quick-service desks to promote personalized interactions.

As ecommerce grows in back-to-school shopping (34.9% of total back-to school sales this year versus 33.5% in 2023), content creators are playing a pivotal role in how consumers find school supplies. This shift is driven by younger parents buying classroom supplies for K-12 children and college students outfitting their dorm rooms. Both groups favor online shopping for its convenience and the ability to compare prices, our analyst Sarah Marzano said in a recent edition of our 鈥淏ehind the Numbers: Reimagining Retail鈥� podcast.

BNPL users skew heavily toward lower-income groups, per our forecast, and credit cards are still seeing strong interest from more affluent Gen Zers. At American Express, for example, millennials and Gen Zers made up more than 60% of proprietary consumer card acquisitions in Q4 2022.

Retailers with ties to China, like Temu and TikTok Shop, have gained popularity in the US. Now, a wave of Japanese-based retailers and retail concepts has come to the US, signaling a potential shift for the retail landscape.

Urban Outfitters and Pacsun are tapping into Pinterest and in-person experiences to get students and families shopping, while Meijer, Walmart, and Target are focused on value. Those are just a few brands that made our Unofficial Most Interesting Retailers List, Back-to-School Edition, for July 2024.

By the end of 2024, Sephora will operate over 1,000 shop-in-shop locations at Kohl鈥檚 stores across the US. But if Sephora wants to launch a free-standing small-format store, a college campus would be a great place to start. 85% of Gen Z teens prefer to shop for beauty products in-store, according to Piper Sandler鈥檚 spring 2024 Taking Stock with Teens survey.

The final two ads will focus on Cash App鈥檚 Afterpay feature, which lets users pay over time retroactively and is gaining traction among Gen Z customers who prefer flexible payment options. Can it work? The products will likely resonate with Gen Z, which Cash App is also targeting with these ads.

Millennials outpace Gen Zers in terms of Google Pay adoption, however: 1.4% of millennials used Google Pay when online shopping in the last 30 days, compared with 0.5% of Gen Z.

Apple鈥檚 platform and consumer banking products are Gen Z magnets. The demographic鈥檚 broad-based iPhone usage and trust in the Apple brand is formed before some Gen Zers are old enough to open a bank account. Gen Z dramatically favors Apple鈥檚 platform.