Gen Z and what we learnt at The Grocer conference 2023

We need to understand Gen Z more

25% of the workforce in 2025 will be made up of Gen Z. They are gaining more disposable income to buy into products and brands. Brands need to invest into understanding what makes this younger audience tick – and not be intimidated by marketing to them!

Tik Tok AND YouTube

Tik Tok is the social channel on everybody’s radar, but Gen Z are turning increasingly to YouTube. It provides educational, longer form content. Because it’s search term based, it reaches audiences further down the marketing funnel. This makes it an important space for Gen Z-ers but also millennials.

The De-influencing trend

When influencers tell their audiences what products NOT to buy. Eek. The #deinfluencing hashtag has had more than 223m views on Tik Tok and has spread from beauty products to now encompassing many different sectors.

The power of the night in, not a night out

Gen Z are fans of a big night in. Despite restrictions of the pandemic now being long gone but, tighter budgets and wanting to curate their own food, drink and entertainment means this younger audience are fans of getting everyone together on the sofa at home. Brands should be considering tailoring their products and marketing to cater to this.

A brand’s employees are its greatest ambassadors

Throughout the conference, there were stories of how a business is now built from the inside out. caring about employees is more important than ever – it’s something Gen Z-ers looks for most from a job. M&S’s pandemic formed Tik Tok store accounts were a great case study of how the retailer tapped into its colleagues’ enthusiasm and experience to smash its reach and engagement targets.

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