Born-with-the-net GenZ was in focus at a webinar conducted by the Market Research Society of India (MRSI) on 14 June 2023. The discussion delved into their behavioural and consumption traits and implications for brands.
“GenZ has high dependency on mobile and internet which plays a key role in their social interactions. There is a strong and differentiated influence of social media that is visible on this generation. Further, the role of the internet has moved up the funnel and it is influencing GenZ consumers at a very early stage in their life. Armed with the power of the internet and information therein, we see a decreased brand loyalty among GenZ. They are more likely to be attracted to special offers and if availability from a particular brand is an issue, it’s easy to move on for this generation to an alternative. A lot of this mannerism is rooted in their traits of being high on their individualism, low on regrets and GenZ on an overall level are more appreciative of themselves compared to the rest of the generations,” noted Aditya Kaul, Group Account Director, Kantar.
Anjana Pillai, Partner and India Board member, Quantum Consumer Solutions, underlined that GenZ comes with a distinctness which is why they have such unique priorities. She said, “There is a worldview that is distinctly different from the previous generational cohorts. One of the reasons is that they are the first non-socialist generation. Being the first generation where consumption was actually encouraged and not curbed, that makes them uniquely different from the previous generational cohorts.”
Due to a democratised access to the digital space, GenZ’s everywhere follow a similar pattern, be it the big cities or the small towns. Also, the group does not believe in following linear goals.
“Delayed gratification and permanence are the two things they perhaps do not resonate with.
Because of too much access, they are constantly searching. They want far too much, far too soon. Brands need to try and understand all the varied influences on their lives and therefore see who they really are and how this manifests itself in various consumption choices. One of the things for the brands to remember is how to forge a sense of community, how is it that they can design for a sense of community because it will be very impactful amongst this cohort. GenZ is all about horizontal conformity and vertical resistance,” added Pillai.
Toggling between personal and social identities, the online space has become one of expression and freedom for them where they can express their strong sense of individuality, noted speakers.
Highlighting why GenZ is the way it is, Mukul Gautam, VP & Chief of Capacity Building, Purple Audacity, asserted, “Ease of access and enormity of information hampers their ability to look beyond what is topical and it also hampers their ability to go search for something valuable and utilise it for their advantage. Therefore, you will see now that a lot of brands focus on a lot of semiotic and visual value on their platform. Impermanence is really built into the way that they think about and respond to things. It is built into the psyche and life context as people have grown. Brands really need to be present wherever they are spending most time rather than expecting them to come to them.”
A generation different from all its previous cohorts, sometimes it becomes difficult to understand them, contended Ashwini Sirsikar, Group Service Line Leader, Ipsos UU and SIA, calling attention to the myths surrounding GenZ.
“Contrary to the belief, GenZ is actually cognisant of the pitfalls of social media. It’s not an aimless or a mindless pursuit of social media but it is actually being used very judiciously to create a carefully curated identity and it’s serving many more motivations and giving avenues when it comes to fulfilling personal goals. They actually consider family to be a key priority and parents are actually their 4 AM friends. Also, there is a certain kind of clarity that they have on where they want to be and what they want to do and how to get there eventually,” said Sirsikar.
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