Hero Digital’s next generation Consumer Goods Truth & Beauty Index was highlighted in a recent consumer research article titled The Gen Z Frenzy: Dueling Studies Show They Want Ease Of Use When Shopping. Written by Ray Schultz, this article takes a deep dive into what matters most to today’s grocery consumers. Read the full article below.
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Millennials must be feeling like yesterday’s news. A year or so ago, scarcely a day went by without a flood of studies coming in about what people in this cohort think about marketing.
They have been replaced by Generation Z, a group now being examined in detail about their feelings on brands and privacy. Take the new study from Transmit Security — “Gen Z Survey: Shaping the Future of Passwordless.”
For starters, 49.5% of Gen Zers will abandon a cart if they forgot their password, and 58% will give up if the registration is too complex. Also, 52% will leave a site if they forgot their credentials.
You would expect that of Boomers not Zoomers (a nickname for Gen Z). These are the digital natives who grew up with smartphones, and over a third own multiple phones, with different numbers.
The study shows that Gen Z doesn’t mind surrendering a little privacy if it will make the process easier. Of those polled, 93% prefer biometrics over passwords.
In addition, 54% choose ease over security — they want “a website that doesn’t ask for my password every time.” However, the remainder want to be asked for authentication.
Email may be one way of providing both ease and security. An interactive email might drive sales without anybody having to sign in — they have already opted in. And it doesn’t matter which device they’re using to open the email. Moreover, email addresses are increasingly being used as identifiers.
But back to Gen Z, and its various peccadillos.
The Transmit Security study shows that 83.3% use a phone to do some or all of their online shopping, and the same percentage uses one to conduct banking. et for all their digital sophistication, 71% don’t know what phishing is, and are susceptible to deceptive emails.
Meanwhile, another study, the Consumer Goods Truth & Beauty Index from Hero Digital, shows that Gen Z is more responsive to emotional appeals than any other age group.
Of the Gen Zers polled, 30% prefer emotional appeals, and 70% functional ones. In contrast, only 10% of millennials want emotional messages, versus 20% apiece for Gen X and Boomers.
In general, Hero Digital says that functional and emotional truths are driven by five essential consumer needs: Quality, Security, Convenience, Connection, and Transformation.
Here are the attributes that drive Gen Zers to brand advocacy. Note that ease of shopping is near the top:
- Has the highest-quality products
- Easy to shop
- Is constantly improving
- Prices are reasonable
- Has products that look great
- Fits my personal style
- Is a brand I can trust
- Has unique products I can’t find anywhere else
- Offers the right balance between quality and price
- Makes me feel like part of a community.
Not that this listing is unique. Millennials put ease of shopping right in the same slot as Gen Z, and Gen X places it right at the top. In contrast, boomers rank ease as fifth.
Here are Millennials’ Top 10:
- Is a brand I can trust
- Easy to shop
- Offers the right balance between quality and price
- Provides outstanding customer service
- Is constantly improving
- Consistently has the products I’m looking for
- Fits my personal style
- Prices are reasonable
- The brand is fun
- They can be trusted to protect my personal information.
And, the Boomers’ Top 10:
- Is constantly improving
- Is a brand I can trust
- Prices are reasonable
- Has the highest quality products
- Easy to shop
- Has unique products I can’t find anywhere else
- Consistently has the products I’m looking for
- Offers the right balance between quality and price
- Has products that look great
- They have a good selection of products to choose from
Had enough? You can always take the tack of humorist Fran Lebowitz, who when offered a chance to find out what millennials really think, asked, “Why would I want to know this?”
Transmit surveyed 600 U.S. consumers in the 18-24 age bracket.
Hero Digital surveyed 5,781 individuals.
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Hero Digital’s Consumer Goods Truth & Beauty Index surveyed 2,300 customers across 22 consumer goods brands. Using Hero Digital’s advanced, proprietary framework, leading companies can uncover the hidden attributes that drive both brand choice and brand advocacy, so they can place today’s customers at the center of their digital transformation strategy.
Contact us to receive your own assessment and better understand how you benchmark against other like-minded brands.
