This report examines Gen Z attitudes and behaviors from a marketing standpoint, and how brands can effectively connect with this generation of consumers. Gen Z consumers are defined as being born 1997-2010. In 2025, members of Gen Z are between the ages of 15 and 28.
Marketing to US Gen Z – Consumer Insights
The behavioral drives of youth – forming an identity, standing out, competing, seeking connection, exploration and validation – create unexpected dynamics with modern technology and society. With the youngest entering high school and the eldest past the median age of first child birth, this generation enters its most diverse phase in terms of life stage. Adding to this morass of complex interactions are recent drops in consumer sentiment due to uncertain and extreme tariff policies of the current administration. Related societal shifts have caused a political gender rift that requires brands to monitor and potentially adjust messaging.
Gen Z, while being digital natives, still struggles to tell truth from falsehood, a shared affliction with older generations. But unlike jaded Gen Xers and older, Gen Zs enthusiastically approach and evaluate new media platforms. Digital hobbies and socialization are norms for this generation, but the benefits of in-person interactions still have them congregating in brick and mortar venues.
Gen Zs, less committed to how they live and work due to their earlier life stage, adapt to modern changes with agility, and are a testing ground for future norms.
This report looks at the following areas:
- The information sources Gen Zs trust to make decisions in a rapidly changing world
- Product discovery platforms and their spending habits and priorities
- Gen Z teens’ values, what prompts them to share something with their peers, and their visual preferences
- Top sources of stress and how they cope
- The reasons Gen Z boycotts brands
- How they spend their time and what their ideal third spaces look like
- Opportunities for brands and examples and analysis of marketing and products
Meet the Expert Behind the Analysis
This report was written by Hiro Takemasa. Hiro joined Mintel in 2024. He draws from more than a decade of experience in marketing, R&D, regulatory and market research in CPG and specialty chemical industries. Hiro has an MBA in Marketing & MS in Biochemistry from the University of Illinois.
Gen Z continues to challenge institutions and ways of work and life as they advance further into adulthood amidst rapid social, technological and political change.
Hiro Takemasa
Senior Consumer Lifestyles Analyst
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- What you need to know
- Market scenario 1: tariffs and deglobalization
- Market scenario 2: partial return of the status quo
- Opportunities
- Invite evaluation and discussion
- Paint a shared future for a generation with a lifetime ahead of them
- Catharsis through humor, acknowledgement of issues and rejection of norms
- A growing divide between genders deserves frank discussion and introspection
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MARKET DYNAMICS
- Market context
- Who are Gen Z and what has shaped them?
- Gen Z by the numbers – the people
- A generation in transition makes Gen Z difficult to pin down
- Graph 1: population, by generation, 2018-28
- Gen Z continues a long trend of a racially, ethnically and sexually diversifying US
- Graph 2: identifying as LGBTQ+, by generation, 2012-24*
- Graph 3: generations, by race, 2023
- Economic realities and cultural changes have shifted life priorities
- Graph 4: average age of mother at first birth, 1980-2020
- Life after high school looms for the youngest Gen Z
- Graph 5: percent of population over 25 with a 4 years of college education or more, 1997-2022
- Graph 6: college tuition and fees price index, 1997-2024
- Gen Z by the numbers – finances
- Gen Z is gaining spending power
- Graph 7: after-tax income minus expenditures, annual average, by generation, 2016-22
- Every year, potentially 2 million Gen Zs enter the workforce*
- Graph 8: employment status of civilian noninstitutional population, by age group, 2024
- Credit card delinquency by younger consumers has increased since 2021
- Graph 9: transition into serious delinquency, consumers aged 18-29, by debt type, 2018-25
- Consumer sentiment for all age groups is plunging amid uncertainty
- Graph 10: consumer sentiment index, by age group, 2022-25
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CONSUMER INSIGHTS
- Consumer fast facts
- Information sources and trust
- Gen Z is not immune to overall consumers’ concerns over information
- Consumers, awash in information, struggle to determine the truth
- Gen Z’s life experiences and exposures influence their confidence towards evaluating information
- Gen Z’s split opinions on information sources requires careful evaluation before partnering
- Graph 11: Gen Z adults – change of trust in information sources, 2025
- Partner with the greatest winners of Gen Z’s trust
- Graph 12: net change of trust in information sources, by Gen Z adults vs all, 2025
- Brands must consistently invest in building trust to avoid the fate of legacy information sources
- Graph 13: net change in trust in information sources, by generation, 2025
- Experience and life stage create different biases between generations
- Address Gen Z parents’ pragmatism with immediate, actionable information
- Graph 14: Gen Z adults – net change of trust in information sources, by parental status, 2025
- Target AI solutions and content to adult Gen Z demos with a positive perception
- Teen Gen Z users of AI trend towards the affluent and urban
- Break through the Dunning Krueger effect by establishing commonality of goals
- Product discovery
- Social media takes shares away from from retail websites and in-store product discovery
- Adult Gen Z’s higher reliance on social media for product discovery is at the expense of retailers
- Graph 15: product discovery platforms, by Gen Z adults vs all, 2025
- Social media offers a convenient platform for product discovery by busy Gen Z parents
- Graph 16: Gen Z adults – product discovery platforms, by parental status, 2025
- Parenting influencers offer moments of commiseration and humor
- Gen Z teens rely more on friends, family and retail websites compared with Gen Z adults
- Graph 17: Gen Z teens – product discovery platforms, 2025
- Gender differences in product discovery suggest Gen Z girls seek social proof while boys seek a competitive edge
- Graph 18: Gen Z teens – product discovery platforms, by gender, 2025
- Social media outperforms other platforms for passive product discovery
- Graph 19: Gen Z teens – index of product discovery platforms, by attitude towards out-of-school learning, 2025
- Spending priorities
- Categories vulnerable to price increases through tariffs are top teen Gen Z spend categories
- Graph 20: Gen Z teens – typical spend categories, 2025
- Gen Z adults are saving up for traditional milestones, but travel remains important
- Graph 21: top purchase categories saving for (select up to three), by Gen Z adults vs all, 2025
- US: percentage of personal consumption expenditures that are imported, by category, 2023
- Help adult Gen Z achieve life goals for a brighter shared future
- Graph 22: Gen Z adults – top purchase categories saving for (select up to three), by those who “have trouble saving up for big purchases,” 2025
- Gen Z teens: values for messaging
- Gen Z teens’ pragmatism reflects their turbulent upbringing and awareness of current events
- Teens’ focus on financial stability reflects growing fear about the future
- Graph 23: Gen Z teens – most important goals as an adult (any rank 1-3), 2025
- Gen Z teens with greater confidence in finances turn their focus towards creativity, freedom and activism
- Graph 24: Gen Z teens – most important goals as an adult (any rank 1-3), by household income level, 2025
- More than half of teens cite humor as a motivator for sharing experiences with a friend
- Graph 25: Gen Z teens – motivations for sharing something seen or heard, 2025
- Teen humor’s intractability for adults is the point
- Almost half of Gen Z teens have some idea of their “personal style”
- Graph 26: Gen Z teens – most important aspect of appearance of purchases (select up to three), 2025
- Urban teens sacrifice a consistent look for uniqueness and association with IPs
- Graph 27: Gen Z teens – most important aspect of appearance of purchases (select up to three), by area, 2025
- What is “cute”? An aesthetic that elicits protective instinct
- Graph 28: Gen Z teens – “cute” as an important aspect of appearance of purchases (selected among top three), by gender and area2025
- What is “cool”? A challenge to the mainstream
- Graph 29: Gen Z teens – “cool” an important aspect of appearance of purchases (selected among top three), by select demos, 2025
- Stressors and coping mechanisms
- Gen Z adults have greater focus on circumstance they have control over
- Graph 30: top stressors (any rank 1-3), by Gen Z adults vs all, 2025
- Target educated Gen Zs with politics and other broader social messaging
- Graph 31: Gen Z adults – top stressors (any rank 1-3), by educational attainment, 2025
- Paint a hopeful picture of the future to align with Gen Z teens’ values
- Graph 32: Gen Z teens – most important goals as an adult (any rank 1-3), 2025
- Offer sympathy, solutions and vision to address Gen Z teens’ immediate and future worries
- Graph 33: Gen Z teens – select top stressors (any rank 1-3) and most important goals as an adult (any rank 1-3), by gender, 2025
- Understand coping strategies to better target and message stressed-out Gen Z adults
- Graph 34: Gen Z adults – activities to relieve stress, 2025
- Stressed parents crave discussion, non-parents want to turn their brain off with social media
- Graph 35: Gen Z adults – activities to relieve stress, by parental status, 2025
- Gen Z adults: reasons for boycotting
- A confluence of factors make Gen Z adults more likely boycotters than older generations
- Youth and technology combine to organize Gen Z dissatisfaction
- Gen Z is sensitive to “unfair hiring practices,” a possible dog whistle for perceived unfair DEI hiring
- Graph 36: reasons for participating in a boycott, by Gen Z adults vs all, 2025
- Certain issues enflame self-identified values-driven consumers more than others
- Graph 37: Gen Z adults – reasons for participating in a boycott, by those who “buy from brands that align with my beliefs,” 2025
- The Gen Z gender divide in politics is real
- Graph 38: Gen Z adults – reasons for participating in a boycott, by gender, 2025
- A week in the life of Gen Z
- Gen Z adults allocate their time between socialization, self-improvement and relaxation
- Graph 39: Gen Z adults – frequency of activities, 2025
- Screens dominate Gen Z teens’ time outside of school
- Screens dominate Gen Z teens’ most frequent activities
- Graph 40: Gen Z teens – frequency of activities, 2025
- Gen Z adults and teens are more likely to be “hanging out online” daily than “hanging out in-person”
- Graph 41: hanging out online – done every day/almost daily, by select Gen Z demos, 2025
- Gen Z feels social connection from the many available genres of streaming
- Third spaces
- Gen Z values socializing in spaces for new connections
- Graph 42: spaces to meet in-person, by Gen Z adults vs all, 2025
- Gen Z adults’ ideal third space has accommodations for both group and solo activities
- Outgoing Gen Z adults prefer third spaces fit for group activities and accessible by personal transport
- In-person marketing to Gen Z teens in commercial spaces is still viable
- Graph 43: Gen Z teens – spaces to hang out in-person, 2025
- Fashion, food, gaming and hobbies are keeping malls relevant
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INNOVATION AND MARKETING STRATEGIES
- Launch activity and innovation
- Meet Gen Z’s needs and address their concerns to grab their attention and time
- Content is king: Gen Z is primed to consume diverse, international entertainment
- Thingtesting and other ecommerce sites are innovating to fight the issue of fake reviews
- Gatcha elements and cute design make PopMart a viral success with Gen Z
- Marketing and advertising
- Convey a shared history – and future – with audiences to establish commonality
- Is cringe… in?
- Don’t flip the on-switch when Gen Z is de-stressing
- The green movement has built-in credibility with Gen Z
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APPENDIX
- Market definition
- Consumer research questions
- Consumer research questions – continued
- Consumer research methodology
- Consumer research methodology – TURF
- TURF data
- TURF data 2
- Generations
- Abbreviations and terms
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