Born in mid-1990s to current 2000s, these digital natives have never lived a life without internet. From their early youth, Gen Zers have been exposed to technology, social media, and mobile devices. This hyper-cognitive generation is very familiar with cross-referencing different sources of information and are highly confident in all aspects of virtual experiences.
Thinking of this new consumer, the way they shop and pay, merchants should rethink how they deliver frictionless omnichannel buying experiences outside the traditional structure of retail, and new digital buying experiences and products. Are you prepared to attend this native digital generation?
- Digital payments
As this generation is passionate about diversity, gaming, and global mind, creating successful buying experiences using digital-only attributes will require a real understanding of this new type of digital buyer. The payment stage of the journey is more crucial than ever before.
- Expanded touchpoints
Gen Z make heavy use of many social networks to create connections, consume multimedia, play games, and share content.Linked to the expansion of shopping touchpoints, shopping is now a natural extension of everyday routines, including time while watching and gaming. They expect to buy and receive items whenever they want.
Gen Z expect to be able to move between online and offline effortlessly across the purchase journey. The ideal omnichannel experience lets consumers start in one channel and finish at another.
- New digital buying experiences
The Metaverse is also creating new opportunities to engage with this generation. Businesses should innovate on their digital products attributes, experimenting with new digital-only products to break into new segments and get closer to their customers. Example – The Australian Open was held simultaneously in-person & in the metaverse.
In the virtual arena, users can play games, access exclusive meetups and buy NFTs of digital wearables & collectibles that are linked to live match data. We will also need to generate a safer and more efficient shopping experience for this new profile.
- Mobile is king
As a generation that has always been exposed to technology, they expect that they can buy online and use their mobile devices to make purchases. Remember, they are the most digitally advanced generation. This is a generation where cash is not a common payment method. According to a research, more than 6 in 10 Gen Zers said mobile devices were their most popular method for digital purchases. - Buying from anywhere
This generation wants to buy and receive their products whenever they want; shopping is now a natural extension of their everyday routines. It is a generation that does not plan their purchases as other generations do.
They are shifting towards on-demand applications and services. For example, as the gaming space is important to them, brands are entering this space with purchase opportunities.
- Innovation is important
Gen Zers want to have innovative payment experiences. They expect that companies keep evolving their payment options, for them it is normal to pay using their devices, digital wallets, and wearables. For example, Network tokenization has helped merchants to offer good payment experiences, unlocking higher authorization rates, lowering fraud, and creating a better customer experience.
To learn more about Gen Z, download the complete report in English.