FRAMEWORK

A practical methodology for meeting Gen Z where they are.

THE GENERATION Z FRAMEWORK

GEN Z FRAMEWORK – ZOOM ON PRICE

Limited purchasing power making them sensitive to the price tag, and favouring over time payment models and subscriptions

Sources: Havas Media, Deloitte, Forrester, MyTotalRetail, GenZInsights

Explanation	Justification	Implication
Sensitive vs Insensitive The price tag has a significant impact on Gen Z purchasing decision, who are younger and less affluent.	Known as ‘money realists’ due to their ability to ramp up their knowledge at the reach of a smartphone and experiences of recession and economic fragility. 46% of Gen Z lives paycheck to paycheck, and they love to strike a good deal. Gen Z more sensitive to discounts, special offers and rewards.	Offer a free trial period, rewards, free delivery, personalised coupons.
Upfront vs Over-time Gen Z falls just behind Millennials in terms of over-time preference, but due to limited (and less consistent) income. But Gen Z interest in over-time is growing (e.g., Klarna).	11% of Gen Z and 18% of Gen Y have used buy now pay later in the last 3 month (as of April 2022 – trend increasing), which is much higher than all other generations.	Companies should offer pay overtime options.
Pay-per-use vs Subscription Subscription-based models are on the rise, becoming a preferred means of consumption vs. classic pay-per-view and pay-per-use.	Starting to go beyond online music streaming, entertainment, deliveries: sports (Decathlon: bike, tennis racket, kayaks), sleep (mattress rental), coffee (Pret-à-Manger in UK & France), food (Pizza del Arte in France).	Think about ways to implement a subscription value to ensure revenue streams and add value for customers.

GEN Z FRAMEWORK – ZOOM ON PRODUCT

Access and second-hand favoured, while technological and intuitive platforms are non-negotiable

Sources: EY, New York Post, Financial Times, The News Movement, Oliver Wyman, BCG, Medium.com

Explanation

Justification

Implication

Access vs Ownership

Gen Z values access to a product more than owning it: this better aligns with their financial circumstances and flexible lifestyles.

Home ownership and car ownership are at the lowest in history (homes: 13% for 18-34 years-old, vs. 16% 20 years ago).

There is an unstoppable rise of platforms, digital sharing economy, streaming, rental and subscriptions.

Explore alternative sale channels -> utilise platforms.

Offer subscription-based models.

Switch to asset-light models.

Technological vs Analogue

Gen Z grew up with technology surrounding them - to use it is in their nature.

Gen Z are struggling with classic office technology like printers and scanners, with one fifth feeling shamed by their older peers.

51% of Gen Z name a FinTech as their most trusted financial brand.

Try to digitise every user interaction.

Leverage as much as possible including mobile apps, AI chatbots, online consultations, self-service portal, online booking, social media, etc.

Intuitive vs Complex

Gen Z do not tolerate unintuitive and slow websites.

Two thirds of Gen Z favour social media for its content delivery, often at the expense of quality/accuracy.

The most important features of content delivery are user friendliness, entertainment and personalisation.

Focus on an intuitive UI in your apps and on your platforms.

Second-hand vs First time purchase

Gen Z assign little value to being the first owner of a product.

Gen Z is most apt to buy (31%) and sell (44%) second-hand clothing, with millennials close behind.

Explore ways to capture value from second-hand products (e.g., own brand operated marketplaces).

GEN Z FRAMEWORK – ZOOM ON PLACEMENT

Omnichannel placement to be favoured, although mobile and social media are key in the purchasing funnel

Sources: Forrester, The News Movement & Oliver Wyman, FutureStores, Parallel Interactive, LaterBlog

Explanation

Justification

Implication

Offline vs Online

Gen Z prefer to make purchases online instead of offline.

They are four times more likely to find products/services they purchase through online research/social media, than in-store browsing.

Companies such as Nike transform their stores to create unique experiences combining physical and virtual features.

Build your stores to implement a unique customer experience.

Set up an omnichannel strategy to multiply touch-points, optimise product familiarisation and your consumption funnel.

Mobile vs Desktop

Gen Z use their smartphone to access the internet more than other devices.

If your website is not optimised for mobile, Google penalises your SEO.

Gen Z are twice as likely to make a purchase on a smartphone compared to Millennials.

Optimise mobile websites and apps (larger font, optimise size and speed, shorter titles, mobile pay platforms et) .

Social Media vs Website

Gen Z browse social media to access information about a company and make purchases, instead of their webpage.

6 in 10 Americans under the age of 25 have already completed a purchase on a social media site.

Offer direct social media purchases and not just links to website.

Use social media to create a community feeling e.g., by offering discount codes there.

GEN Z FRAMEWORK – ZOOM ON PROMOTION

Better interaction with relatable sources of information, sharing dynamic, ephemeral and personalised content

Sources: The News Movement & Oliver Wyman, WARC, LaterBlog, McKinsey

Explanation

Justification

Implication

Relatable vs Idolised

Gen Z prefer recommendations from relatable influencers/peers rather than from idolised role models (e.g. celebrities) and traditional news outlets.

Recommendations from influencers feel like those of a trusted friend.

Gen Z reject the heavily photoshopped personas favoured by millennials.

For fact-checking, Gen Z trust people like them twice as much as mainstream news.

Don't neglect print ads as they are perceived as trustworthy.

Find trustworthy (micro) influencers to promote your brand.

Dynamic vs Static

With Gen Z, reach and interaction are maximised with short, dynamic and ephemeral content such as stories, rather than static content, such as posts.

Gen Z prefer authentic, unfiltered multi-way content, versus the curated, filtered one-way feeds that millennials are mostly on, hence the success of platforms like BeReal.

50% of Gen Z prefer the kind of short videos found on Instagram reels, Snapchat and TikTok.

Promote using limited offers e.g. via IG stories to capture FOMO

Use dedicated channels such as "Dynamic Stories" on the "Discover" platform of Snapchat.

Personalised vs Standardised

Gen Z include many different subcultures, increasing the need for personalised targeting. This also increases trust.

Gen Z have an 'Undefined ID’, they don’t want to be defined in only one way. They are 'identity nomads'

Nearly 60% of Gen Z say they enjoy seeing and being offered personally relatable content on social media.

Create trust by directly addressing your audience, via personalised mail or on niche social media.

GEN Z FRAMEWORK – ZOOM ON ENGAGEMENT

A preference for indirect, short and audio-visual content on Instagram, Tik Tok, Snapchat & YouTube

Sources: The News Movement & Oliver Wyman, Inlea, IAB, 99Firms, DigitalMusicNews,

Explanation

Justification

Implication

Direct vs Indirect

From company to customer versus from company over third party (such as influencer) to customer.

Gen Z rely on peer reviews and don’t take any message for fact.

Having a company's message communicated through a third party adds a layer of trust.

Spread your message using both mega and micro influencers.

Sponsor societies, clubs, co-organise events, speaker series, panel discussions, etc.

Short vs Elaborate

Fast internet speeds, bringing the world right at their fingertips, along with multiple choices, have resulted in a decline in attention spans.

Millennials have a 50% longer attention span than Gen Z, who have an eight-seconds attention span.

Be concise and captivating in your communication.

1st touch-point messages should be rather short

Avoid "clickbait"-type content.

Text vs Video/Audio

Gen Z read less, but still consumes media. They prefer audio visual content

71% of Gen Z watch more than three hours of online videos every day.

Digital audio is a rising trend among Gen Z.

Rely on videos and podcasts to meet Gen Z demand for multi-screening.

Facebook vs TikTok

Millennials are still attached to Facebook, while Gen Z favours TikTok and Snapchat.

YouTube and Instagram are cross generational.

40% of Gen Z start with TikTok or Instagram in their search for information.

70% of Gen Z on Snapchat watch stories, including news stories found in the ‘discover’ tab.

Be present on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat, and post regularly.

GEN Z FRAMEWORK – ZOOM ON DECISION-MAKING

High sense of community, sustainability and transparency, while being radical and rather unforgiving

Sources: The Economist, The News Movement & Oliver Wyman, McKinsey

Explanation	Justification	Implication
ESG vs Individual Gen Z bases more and more of their decisions to consume on if the product/service aligns with the ESG targets.	Young consumers profess to be more values-driven than older generations, and worry particularly about climate change. Consumers globally will pay an average premium of 9% greener products.	Report your current ecological footprint, set ambitious goals and communicate how you will get there.
Fact-checking vs agreement Gen Z seek transparency and hold brands accountable, while Gen Y will accept claims and purchase more intuitively.	Gen Z are nearly twice as likely as older generations to fact-check their news, and nearly 60% say they’ve developed techniques to spot unreliable or fake news. Young consumers are “truth barometers”.	Be transparent and self-critical.
Individualism vs Community Gen Z are united in their search for uniqueness, but paradoxically, with Gen Z, community matters more than channel strategy.	Gen Z are ‘communaholics’, and have a high sense of community: users can bounce from one platform to the next, but all the while remain within their selected micro-communities.	Don’t ask Gen Z to buy from you; ask them to join you and then sustain a dialogue that gives them a voice and sense of belonging.
Loyal vs Disloyal Gen Z can be radical and unforgiving in their decision making.	Nine in ten Gen Z Europeans have changed how they shopped, where they shopped or the brands, they bought in the previous three months.	Upholding high standards for quality control and business ethics is important. Have rigorous control mechanisms in your communication.

Key learnings: Gen Z is a complex generation, full of paradoxes:

Key learnings: Views from our participants

Marc-Audoin:
Gen Z are incredibly attached to communities. Businesses have to try to understand these communities and not try to interact with consumers directly.

Kaya
This generation tends to have a short attention span yet values genuine and verifiable content. It strives for authenticity yet is constantly immersed in a digital world.

Livia
Gen Z can be radical and unforgiving in their decision-making, upholding high standards for quality control and ethics of the brands they consume

Valentin
The way Gen Z can be reached is completely different to Gen Y. Instead of following idealised celebrities they prefer to follow specific relatable content from microinfluencers.