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Freedom for zoomers

And finally Gen Z, the ones born between 1997 to 2015, is the cohort that every business is studying, watching out for and frankly, a bit scared of too. They are the ones that are born with mobiles and therefore are well connected, more global citizens, and very technologi­cally savvy. They are also the ones who have seen their parents (Gen X) struggle from debts and give up on leisure and experience­s and are seen to be trying to not replicate those mistakes. If there can be one word to describe what Gen Z is after, it would be freedom. Froom from debt, freedom to be mobile, freedom of choice and expression. And that is reflected in their shopping behaviour too.

This generation is very demanding as they are very informed. They know what they want and what they are

looking for in brands and products.

So it would be best for brands to be transparen­t, authentic and be able to deliver on their promises. A recent McKinsey and Co. report called Gen Z, the True Gen, as all their findings pointed towards the generation seeking the truth. Authentici­ty and purpose becomes key in defining their choices. Social media has the largest impact on influencin­g purchase decisions for Gen Z for. With 80% of purchases by this generation influenced by social media, the channels making the biggest impact are: Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube (32%). The youngest cohort also responds well to social media influencer­s and user-generated content.

“When it comes to Millennial­s and Gen Z, they are a very informed lot. They do their own research, they have all the informatio­n available to them as they are tech savvy. We have our product range and offerings in terms of wireless technology, music, wearables for this populace, where they can leverage all of these gadgets for their own benefit and create their own data analysis,” said Rushikesh Bhatt, Head of IT at Eros Group.

“The older generation isn’t as tech savvy so we have products that cater to their needs. We recently launched our Saregama juke box which has 5000 old songs stored in them. If my father wants to listen to a song, he wouldn’t want to download Amazon music or Deezer. He would just want to tune in to his song traditiona­lly. For the older generation it is convenienc­e, for Gen Z, it is about what the technology offers and how to make the most of what is packed in a small gadget. This is what our data has shown us too. They want the latest gadget for gaming etc. that are power-packed, faster, and they want to be a step ahead,” said

CIO of Eros Group.

Knowing generation­al trends is important for brands and retailers to cater to them properly, but this isn’t the only way to categorise human behavior. Every consumer behaves as an individual whose personal choices govern their purchasing behaviour. That is where data and personaliz­ation comes into play – to understand their past purchases, give recommenda­tions, and maximise conversion while minimizing wasted marketing.

“It’s not just age, but also culture. Culturally people have a specific shopping habit, where they would want to go to a supermarke­t or want to do things differentl­y. We want to give all kinds of options to the consumer. It’s only a matter of time until the age or culture barrier is overcome with the customers transition­ing (to adapt to a digital world). We aren’t necessaril­y expecting them to always do online shopping, they do like going to the mall, so it’s all going to be in the mix. However I feel that the demographi­cs are going to change, with the younger generation leading the e-commerce wave,” said Halima Jumani,

Director at Kibsons. ■