Hello everyone and welcome to our newsletter on all things Gen Z.

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A question we are often asked in our many discussions about engaging the next generation of consumers is: “But won’t Gen Z just get old and start acting like their parents?”

The question matters, because all that money, time and effort you may be considering putting into engaging this new group of consumers and employees may very soon be redundant.

And you may as well have stuck to what you were doing yesterday.

The answer lies in the tricky-to-judge difference between cohort effects and period effects. Cohort effects are those that are more generally baked into the attitudes and behaviours of different generations - and are less likely to change.

Period effects are those that are more closely associated with age and stage of life, and are more likely to revert to “the average” over time.

The more evidence we look at, the more it suggests that fundamental changes in attitude and approaches to life we see for Gen Z now will endure. Cohort is beating period.

This week we were at the World Association of News Publishers conference in Taipei (taking TNM’s message to the four corners of the world never stops 😎) and there the brilliant Agnes Stenborn of In/Lab Schibstead said that this generation of digital natives - just starting to explore the world of generative artificial intelligence - were unlikely to shift back to a world of, say, reading newspapers.

We were discussing the future of the media, after all.

And then there is this about young voters in Australia. The findings will be worrying to Republicans in America and Conservatives in the UK as they contemplate polls that put them behind amongst the next generation of voters ahead of the 2024 elections.

The evidence points in one direction. If you keep doing what you did yesterday, this cohort will leave you behind.

Period.

No handbags at dawn

Onto more serious matters: young people are shunning handbags. Bear with us. Walk down any street, and it will probably take you around five seconds before you spot a canvas tote bag or a bumbag (fanny pack in the US). With Gen Z opting for more casual accessories, sales of handbags declined by 2% between April 2022 and April 2023 among younger people but rose 7% among consumers aged over 35. It’s a specific case study, but reveals to us how “cool and casual” resonates more with the next generation than polished and formal. What’s true for handbags is almost certainly the case for, say, workwear, judging by the very big sneakers we see around TNM’s offices.

Five stars

Day One Agency recently did a Deep Dive into Gen Z’s Scrolls and a key finding was about recommendation culture. They found that 89% of Gen Z go to the comment section to help them make a purchase, and 53% of Gen Z trust product reviews on a website when deciding what to buy. If pure recommendation content works, best to face it head on.

Bank of mum and dad

This survey from Experian found that two-thirds of Gen Z and millennials feel ashamed of needing to ask their parents for financial assistance, and yearn for more financial independence. 61% of Gen Z consider themselves financially dependent on their parents, but also feel their parents aren’t great financial role models. It just leaves us to say - once more - that this is a knowledge gap that needs addressing.

Circling back

LinkedIn and Duolingo have teamed up on the worthy cause of figuring out which workplace jargon terms Gen Z and millennials find most annoying. Taking the top three slots are “blue sky thinking”, “low-hanging fruit”, and “ducks in a row” respectively. Click to see the full list, including which terms are most used, and most misunderstood. Amend your habits accordingly…

And finally…

80%

Of Gen Z want to see innovative ways of submitting job applications including Instagram shout-outs, TikTok ‘hire me' videos and direct messages on WhatsApp. Another 67% said that writing a CV or cover letter was “tedious”. While it might not be necessary (or feasible) to totally overhaul hiring methods, data like this encourages us to question which parts of the process are truly helpful, and where we could update or reduce lengthy requests to attract younger talent. In the US, we found this helpful, in the UK this. We hope you do as well.

Let’s circle back next Saturday and run some more thoughts up a flagpole . . .

How can we help?

In my many travels and conversations, I’m increasingly talking to CEOs, executives and civil society leaders wanting to better understand the next generation of consumers and the next generation of employees. Gen Z is putting pressure on us all to transform in fascinating ways, and many of us are asking questions about how to cater for younger workers and future proof our organisations.

If this sounds like you, we’d be keen to have a chat and see if TNM can help. From our own content production to work we have done, for example, with The Oliver Wyman Forum, we have a raft of insights and data which can support you. We work closely with a number of global organisations – helping with high-impact story-telling, digital media, internal communications, through to employee benefits, HR and working structures.

Email me direct and all of us at TNM look forward to speaking further.

Kamal Ahmed
Editor-in-Chief and Co-founder
The News Movement