UK Lifestyles of Generation Z Market Report
Everything you need to make the right decisions
Providing the most comprehensive and up-to-date information and analysis of the Lifestyles of Generation Z market, and the behaviours, preferences and habits of the consumer.
Mintel has the answers you’re looking for
What are the key challenges facing the industry? Who is the consumer and what do they want? Where are the opportunities, where are the risks and what lies ahead?
Mintel generation definitions
Please note that for this Report Generation Z has been defined as those aged 6-18 years, although the consumer data is based on a sample of 12-18-year-olds as this is currently considered to be the core group for marketers and brands.
- Generation Z – born 2000-12
- Millennials – born 1980-99
- Millennials (younger) – born 1990-99
- Millennials (older) – born 1980-89
- Generation X – born 1965-79
- Baby Boomers – born 1946-64
- Swing Generation/World War II – born 1945 or before
What you need to know
Generation Z’s unprecedented access to social media has vastly improved their opportunities to connect with new people, with online friendships often as important to this cohort as real-world companions.
However, it has also undoubtedly fostered a culture of “hyperconnectivity”, which is proving a negative for the young’s mental health, with conditions such as anxiety and depression becoming more widely reported. From a commercial perspective this underlines opportunities for more brands to engage with the young about their mental wellbeing, and help them establish a healthier balance between digital and real-world experiences.
Expert analysis from a specialist in the field
Written by Jack Duckett, a leading analyst in the Leisure sector, his extensive knowledge delivers in-depth commentary and analysis to highlight current trends and add expert context to the numbers.
As Generation Z’s friendships have increasingly shifted online it has made it harder for them to switch off from technology, resulting in a culture of “hyper-connectivity” that is arguably having a very real impact on their mental health. From a commercial perspective this underlines opportunities for more brands to engage with the young about their mental wellbeing, and to help them establish a healthier balance between digital and real-world experiences.
Jack Duckett
Leisure Analyst
What you get
What's included
- Consumer Attitudes and Behaviour
- Market data
- Competitive analysis
- Risks and Opportunities
- What’s Next
- Market Trends
This market report provides in-depth analysis and insight supported by a range of data. At the same time, introductory and top-level content is provided to give you an overview of the issues covered.
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Market
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Consumer
Mintel's proprietary consumer research provides our analysts with the attitudinal and behavioral data used to provide valuable insight to topical issues.
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Brand/Company
Mintel provides overviews of the top brands and manufacturers, and uses consumer research to explore attitudes and reactions to brands, as well as insight into what will resonate with consumers.
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Data
Market reports provide appendices of data to support the research and insight produced. Our tables of data are easily manipulated and downloadable to support your research needs and covers factors from consumer attitudes to market forecasts.

* This is a sample representation of the report layout and does not reflect the research included in this report.
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Table of contents
Overview
- What you need to know
- Report definitions
- What you need to know
Executive Summary
- The market
- Baby boom shows signs of ending…
- …but number of parents with dependents continues to rise
- Figure 1: Number of mums and dads with dependent children in the household, UK, 2000-17
- Proportion of adults with dependent children in employment sees growth
- The consumer
- An emphasis on educational role models
- Figure 2: Figures parents consider to be good role models for their children, July 2018
- Parents worry about influence of social media stars
- Figure 3: Parents’ attitudes children’s self-image and role models, July 2018
- Helping parents navigate childhood health
- Sexual health tops list of difficult parent/child conversations
- Figure 4: Areas of life parents find difficult discussing with their children, July 2018
- Mums remain key decision makers in the family home
- Figure 5: Decision makers in the home, July 2018
- Parents conflicted when it comes to digital tracking
- Figure 6: Proportion of parents tracking, or interested in tracking, their children with an app or technology device, July 2018
- What we think
Issues and Insights
- Choosing good role models for children
- The facts
- The implications
- Helping parents navigate childhood obesity
- The facts
- The implications
- Choosing good role models for children
Parents Today – What You Need to Know
- Baby boom shows signs of ending…
- …but number of parents with dependents continues to rise
- Financial confidence dips amongst those with older children
- Proportion of adults with dependent children in employment sees growth
- Household obesity
- Children’s mental health continues to prove a cause for concern
- Baby boom shows signs of ending…
A Demographic Overview
- Baby boom shows signs of ending…
- Figure 7: Trends in the number of live births, England and Wales, 2000-17
- Figure 8: Standardised^ mean age of mums and dads at birth of child, 2000-16
- …but number of parents with dependents continues to rise
- Figure 9: Number of mums and dads with dependent children in the household, UK, 2000-17
- Figure 10: Families in the UK with dependent children, by family type, 2010-17
- Same sex parents
- Baby boom shows signs of ending…
Lifestyle Factors
- Financial confidence dips amongst those with older children
- Figure 11: Current financial situation, by presence of children in household, August 2018
- Proportion of adults with dependent children in employment sees growth
- Figure 12: Employment rates of men and women (aged 16 to 64) with and without dependent children, England, April to June 2000-17
- Childhood obesity levels remain high…
- Figure 13: Overweight and obesity prevalence in the England by selected age breaks, 2006-16
- …as adult obesity continues to soar
- Children’s mental health continues to prove a cause for concern
- Financial confidence dips amongst those with older children
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
- An emphasis on educational role models
- Children grow up too quickly
- The double-edged sword of social media personalities
- Dads struggle more than mums
- Sexual health tops list of difficult parent/child conversations
- Mums remain key decision makers in the family home…
- …But brands must remember dads
- Helping parents navigate childhood and teen obesity
- Parents prove conflicted when it comes to digital tracking
- An emphasis on educational role models
Who Makes the Best Role Models for Children
- The importance of educational role models
- Figure 14: Figures parents consider to be good role models for their children, July 2018
- Figure 15: Shell’s ‘The Bright Ideas Challenge’, 2018
- Aspiration and inspiration are key takeaways
- Figure 16: Nike ‘Dream Crazy’ campaign, September 2018
- Mums more likely to look to the family for good role models…
- Figure 17: Figures parents consider to be good role models for their children, mums vs dads, July 2018
- Figure 18: IKEA’s ‘Wonderful Everyday’ campaign, July 2016
- …while dads emphasise a sense of adventure
- Figure 19: North Face ‘She Moves Mountains’ campaign, April 2018
- The double-edged sword of social media personalities
- The importance of educational role models
Parents’ Attitudes towards Children’s Self-Image and Role Models
- Children grow up too quickly…
- Figure 20: Parents’ attitudes children growing up too quickly, July 2018
- Figure 21: Love Island contestants, June 2018
- Promoting body confidence
- Figure 22: Dove & Steven Universe short - Appearance Related Teasing and Bullying, April 2018
- Social media influencers crowd the advertising market
- Figure 23: Parents’ attitudes towards social media influencers and role models, July 2018
- Helping parents navigate childhood health
- Figure 24: Parents’ attitudes towards children’s weight and image insecurities, July 2018
- Children grow up too quickly…
Difficult Conversations
- Parents prove unafraid of difficult conversations with their children…
- Figure 25: Areas of life parents find difficult discussing with their children, July 2018
- …albeit dads struggle more than mums
- Figure 26: Areas of life parents find difficult discussing with their children, by sex of parent, July 2018
- Figure 27: Colman’s ‘Meals that say it all’ campaign, July 2014
- Sexual health tops list of difficult parent/child conversations
- The Next Genderation
- Parents prove unafraid of difficult conversations with their children…
Decision Makers
- Democratic family life
- Figure 28: Decision makers in the home, July 2018
- Mums remain key decision makers in the family home
- Figure 29: Decision makers in the home, mums vs dads, July 2018
- The heavy burden of being the main decision maker
- Figure 30: Fiat ‘The Motherhood’ campaign, December 2012
- Brands must remember dads
- Figure 31: Kellogg’s Coco Pops ‘Approved by Mums’ and ‘Approved by Parents’ packaging claims, September 2018
- Democratic family life
Tracking Children
- Tracking kids at school
- Figure 32: Proportion of parents tracking, or interested in tracking, their children with an app or technology device, July 2018
- The boom in wearable tech health tracking
- Figure 33: Fitbit Ace Family account app, September 2018
- Parents conflicted when it comes to digital tracking
- Tracking kids at school
Appendix – Data Sources, Abbreviations and Supporting Information
- Abbreviations
- Consumer research methodology
- Qualitative research methodology
- Figure 34: BBC headline about children growing up too quickly, March 2013