The Gen Z shopper population is a major force that already represents about 40% of all global consumers. And this generation’s unique motivators and preferences pose new challenges to brands and retailers seeking their loyalty.

A February 2021 study conducted by my company, IRI, leveraged focus groups, interviews and purchase data from approximately 1,000 Gen Z shoppers to deeply understand their motivations and consumer behavior. We found that Gen Z members generally have a few things in common: They’re digitally native, intolerant of inauthenticity and fluid in their self-identity. We also identified a dazzling diversity in the group and found that for most Gen Z shoppers, change and experimentation were constants. In fact, more than half of Gen Zers said they love to try different brands compared to only 35% who say they’re brand loyal.

For these reasons, reaching this group can be particularly difficult for CPG marketers. But the opportunity to benefit is tremendous if they can rise to the challenge. So, how can CPG marketers build critical brand loyalty with a generation that research suggests likes to explore, discover and try new things?

Many of the traditional marketing tactics — like segmentation, demographic analysis and linear TV ads — may fall short with a generation whose purchases my company found are more influenced by TikTok than any other form of media. To win with this new generation of shoppers, marketers should rethink traditional approaches, understand Gen Z deeply and earn their dollars with innovative strategies that appeal to their unique motivators.

How To Win With Gen Z

Thirty-nine percent of respondents to IRI’s Gen Z survey said TikTok videos are among the most likely influences to get them to buy a product. That said, going viral on TikTok isn’t the only path to success.

According to the study, the only stronger influences on Gen Z’s purchase behavior are recommendations from friends and family or seeing friends and family using a product. In 2017, Accenture also found that Gen Z consumers place a greater emphasis than millennials on input from friends and family about their purchases. This is a broader insight into the value of word-of-mouth and trusted recommenders in driving Gen Z’s purchase behavior. For CPG marketers, understanding Gen Z’s social networks and the way their categories are represented on social forums can provide important insights into this population’s purchase motivators.

Brands starting to build their social media presence to engage with Gen Z should keep three things in mind:

• Post frequently and consistently: Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. Put something that is good enough into the market and then optimize frequently.

• Choose your platform wisely: Gen Z and millennials may use different social platforms for different kinds of content, including Facebook and Instagram for entertainment, YouTube for discovery and Snapchat and TikTok for mood-lifting, according to a recent study from Omnicom Media Group. Develop content that is relevant to your channel and your audience.

• Be data-driven: Let the best metric for your desired outcome (engagement, click-through rate and sales lift) tell you what is actually working with your target audience. Don’t anchor yourself to old rules of thumb from the past.

My company’s survey showed that Gen Z valued honesty and straightforwardness more than any generation since their grandparents and great-grandparents (The Silent Generation). As a result, authenticity that spans a brand’s image — from product to packaging and marketing — could help drive success with Gen Z shoppers. More importantly, inauthenticity is likely to be identified and amplified through social channels quickly.

What drives authenticity? I’ve found that the key is following through on your brand’s commitments — on taste, health benefits or other promises — and being transparent about what happens behind the scenes or where your product falls short. That sometimes means avoiding trends that don’t fit with your brand. For example, sustainability probably shouldn’t be a core part of your brand if the product is wrapped in multiple layers of plastic.

Thirty-eight percent of Gen Z respondents to the IRI study said that, after taste and price, the fact that a brand “cares about the environment/sustainability” is one of the most important factors that would motivate a purchase decision for food or non-alcoholic beverage. A 2019 study from First Insight, “The State Of Consumer Spending: Gen Z Shoppers Demand Sustainable Retail,” surveyed more than 1,000 U.S. respondents and found that Generation Z was more likely to make purchase decisions based on principles and values than other generations. Choose a societal issue — be it sustainability, gender equality or something else that’s authentic to your brand’s image and product — and authentically support that issue.

To effectively reach and maintain a slice of Gen Z’s wallet, CPG marketers should make sure they have the tools and data to routinely measure and optimize their marketing.

For brands, accurate, real-time and deeply granular purchase data can help you to get a regular pulse on Gen Z shoppers and align your marketing as their needs change. Measure your success, test media creative and messaging, meet shoppers on the platforms on which they engage most and re-calibrate regularly to ensure relevance. And because Gen Zers are still young, their consumer experiences today could shape their lifelong shopping habits. Investments brands make today in reaching Gen Z could have meaningful, long-tail impacts.

To harness the $143 billion in direct buying power that Gen Z may possess today — according to a 2019 estimate from ResearchAndMarkets (via Business Wire) — CPG marketers should commit to understanding these shoppers’ motivations and preferences and keeping up with them as they grow and evolve. There is a tremendous opportunity for brands to connect in new ways, but marketers have to get comfortable with having less control over how their message is shared with this group. Instead, focus on building a coalition of enthusiasts to champion your products so long as they’re authentic, purpose-driven and meet the Gen Z shopper where they are. This isn’t your grandmother’s marketing playbook.

Author: President, IRI Media Center of Excellence,

Translated by THUONG HIEU VU | BOUTIQUE BRANDING AGENCY