Attached is the transcript for In the Loupe season 2 episode 13. Listen to it on Spotify here.
Michael Burpoe:
Welcome back everybody to in the loupe. What's up everybody. My name is Michael [inaudible] and this is the first half of a two part episode series on the gen Z consumer and Alex Brown, VP of operations at the Smithee group and Cody Giles director of integrated strategy at Smithee Group are going to be speaking with two Smithee group interns, Emmae and Jake about their online consuming and browsing habits. It's going to be a really interesting talk about the differences between gen Z and gen X or millennial, or what have you. And it's going to kind of highlight some of those key differences in how you can market to them a little bit better and understand their browsing habits. Again, this is going to be the first half, so be on the lookout for the second half, which will come out next week. And we want to say a very special thank you to podium for sponsoring this week's episode.
Episode is brought to you by Punchmark, the jewelry industries leading website provider. Join the community of nearly 500 other jewelry stores in choosing Punchmark’s easy to run and e-commerce enabled website platform by visiting punchmark.com for your free trial demo. And this episode is brought to you by The Smithee Group, a digital growth agency that helps leaders and businesses dream bigger than she'd. Multi-Generational integrity through insights and intelligence, digital marketing, and advertising solutions. They help businesses expand their business and grow their revenue. The SmithGroup has helped hundreds of businesses surpass their goals and believe that whatever your business, whatever your story, they will make it matter to your audience. Thanks so much. Enjoy the show.
Alex Brown:
Well, hello and welcome back to In the Loupe. We're so excited to have you here today. My name is Alex Brown. I'm the VP of operations at The Smithee Group, and we're taking over the podcast today. If you're looking for Mike, he'll be back in a few episodes. But today at the Smithee group, we're talking about gen Z consumers. So we're actually joined by a couple of our resident gen Z's on team TSG, Jake and Emmae welcome. Thanks so much for being here today. Jake, you are our content coordinator. You're very busy hustling on the team. You're also studying at the moment, which is a, is a double whammy for you, but we're so grateful that you're on our team and Emmae is one of our brand strategists. So if you're a client of ours, you've probably spoken to her as well. We also have Cody, our brilliant director of integrated strategy. Co-Hosting with me today. And he's got all the facts and figures on the gen Z consumer. So I'm really excited to dive into this topic. I feel like we've been talking about millennials for a while, which I fit firmly in that category, but actually the consumer, the people who are bringing in the money for the market is really the gen Z that we have to be looking at right now. So how's everyone doing? Are we excited about the conversation?
Cody:
Very excited and Alex, isn't it putting into perspective that we're millennials, like nobody wants to talk about us anymore. We're onto gen Z now we're old news. We're old news. Let's Move on. Gen Z is where it's at. Jake [inaudible]. How are you guys doing today?
Jake:
I'm doing great. I'm really excited to get some insight about Gen Z and how we feel about things. So I'm really excited to get started.
Emmae:
Yeah, I'm doing good. I'm excited. I have a lot to say about my shopping habits, so I love it. We want to hear all about it. So yeah, the gen Z consumer, I, as I said, I think that we've been focusing so much on the millennial consumer, but actually we need to really be focusing as people in marketing as people who run businesses on what the gen Z consumer is actually after right now. So excited to dig into that. We're actually so excited that this is going to be a two part series because we have so much to cover on this topic. We're going to be digging deep into a variety of topics, including types of marketing what you all gravitate towards social values, things like that. So make sure you stay tuned because we will be releasing this as a two-part episode to make sure that we really have the full width of discussion that the, the gen Z consumer deserves. But before we actually dive into these individual topics, Cody's actually going to kick us off about a few facts about our our friends, the gen Z is
Cody:
Our friends, the gen Z years. Yes. So just a few facts I have here. The first one you may be wondering, well, how old are gen Z consumers? What does that age range look like? So generation Z was born between 1997 and 2012. So when we think about it, these consumers are now 23, 24, getting close to 25. So they are current shoppers. A lot of times we think about gen Z as being teenagers, but they are young adults now at this point and they actually represent 20.5% of the U S population. So they do represent a sizable portion of the us population in the market today, 22% of represented by millennials. And then we have baby boomers that represent 21%. So there is a fair ground and a fair coverage there for gen Z, even stacked to other generations. A few other points here that I have, it's estimated that gen Z's annual purchasing power.
Cody:
It could be as high as $323 billion in the U S. Now this figure can grow up to four Toms when you account for their influence in their households. So how they influence their friends in their household or their parents or their siblings in the household that can grow up to four times larger than that. So don't count them out. They have a lot of spending power, but they're going to spend it carefully and wisely based on their values, which we'll talk about a bit later in the podcast. One interesting topic that I discovered about gen Z and Alex, I wanna know how you feel about this, the average gen Z, or received their first mobile phone. At 10 years of age. I was like 13 to 14 when I received my first phone, but
Alex:
Oh, no, this is aging me. I wasn't, I was 17 when I first got my like massive brick of a Motorola that had like, I could only use this is back in the day where you do shorthand all the time, because you could only use certain amount of characters per text, you and how to sentiment Mt. Texts per day, man really aging myself there.
Alex:
So Jake & Emmae, the first question I want to ask you all is what was the age that you got your first cell phone?
Jake:
I was in fifth grade. I was spot on,
Emmae:
I was 11 years old. So sixth grade.
Cody:
So that's pretty on par. You guys were 10, 11 years old now or they smartphones is the question they had to be right with you all. I had like a text phone, but then I also had my iPod touch. So the iPod touch so big for like the chinsy young consumer before you got your phone. Jake, what about you? Yeah.
Jake:
Yeah. like in fifth grade I had a little brick phone, but my first smartphone was that sixth grade after I'd shown that responsibility of being a fifth grader, the ultimate response.
Cody:
I mean, who knows what it looks like now, Alex, you have twins. At what age do you get the girls a phone? It's probably going to be a bit younger now.
Alex:
I mean, they literally already know how to use my phone. Like I watched them, they're 18 months old and they'll pick up my phone and you know, I've got ND swiping to see all the notification she'll swipe, cross to find the video. And I'm like, how do you know this? So, you know, they're picking up to their ear and going, you know, you bring away going, hello, light, blah, blah, blah. Everything's a phone. So they know how to use a phone already, like they already know. So
Cody:
They're going to bring it over to you and just be like, Hey, show your face, unlock the phone, mommy. So I can get into play my games and watch it
Alex:
Exactly. They're way too smart. Dang it.
Cody:
Yeah. It's getting younger and younger, a few other points here. So in a global survey of over close to 16,000 gins, a years, 66% of respondents said once they find a brand, they like, they will continue to buy from that brand for a long period of time. So when we think about gen Z, there is a relevance there when they find brands that they resonate with and they enjoy, they're going to be a long time and repeat customers. So something to think about as you're framing up your experience for gen Z and how you cater to the audiences, that's really a great opportunity to turn them into a lifelong customer. The last point I'll make here, gen Z has the highest rate of advertising recall at 59%. So whenever they see as they're more likely to recall them than their counterparts, millennials, Alex United, about 57% gen X slash baby boomers that are about 47%. So a gen Z ears, they remember the ads, you show them that leads to more brand awareness can be a good thing. If you use it effectively,
Alex:
Do you think that's because they do have more access and longer access to things like smart devices that that's where your main advertising is.
Cody:
Do you think that it could be, but there's also gonna be an argument that they're on social media so much, or they consume so much media, you would think how much you're consuming. You would forget, but that's not the case. They still remember. So they're just proud of the environment that they grew up in. They can easily call out as it are fake. So they're more likely to remember the ads that are true. And we'll talk about experiential marketing in just a bit, but I think that could play into it as well. And kind of how you shape experiences from a brand perspective digitally and also traditionally.
Alex:
Yeah, absolutely. Well, let's dive right into it. Experiential marketing. I do feel like that could be seen as a little bit of a buzzword of the moment as well. All that it has to be some kind of dramatic light experience immersion to actually be effective, but just give us the top level. Cody, what is experiential marketing?
Cody:
It's interesting, whenever you Google experiential marketing, the first images of a concert with confetti and like crazy bags, it's exactly what someone would first picture is like, okay, I need to have an experience. It needs to be this huge humongous thing, but that's not the case. If you have the true definition, experiential marketing as a strategy that engages consumers using branded experiences. Whenever we're talking about experiential marketing, we're talking about other from a digital standpoint or from a traditional standpoint, what experiences are you providing to your consumers to have a lasting impact and to make them recognize and say, wow, that was a great experience. I want to share this with my friends, or I want to come back repeatedly to have that same experience because I know it's spot on. So whenever we talk about experience with marketing, it's about what you're doing to just keep your name top of mind and provide a great experience to your customers.
Alex:
Yeah, that's great. So let's kick it over to you, Jake and Emma, what kind of experiences do you like when it comes to marketing? So you're there on your phone and you see something, what's your personal inclination towards experiential marketing?
Emmae:
I think for me, a lot of different brands that I've discovered on Instagram or whatever other platforms when they have content that isn't just their thing that they're selling. Like I've had, I've found brands that make are like really funny graphics that I'll share with my friends or like talk about really important issues and have taken porn stances on it. That's something that it's like the brand is bringing further than their product that's really brought me in and given me something more to look for as I'm following them. So I think it's that aspect, but also just like the aesthetics, if, if your brand has like these beautiful graphics are beautiful images and even like storefronts, like beautiful, crazy storefronts, it's so memorable to me. And it's not just like beautiful thing that I like looking at, but I trust them if they like, if they have their act together, aesthetically and visually, I trust that other parts of their product and their company have it together.
Alex:
That trust aspect is interesting. I feel like you're saying they're expressing their personality a little bit, so you're actually getting to know them more than just beyond a shop. You're actually getting to know the personality behind the brand, right? Absolutely. Yeah. What about you, Jake?
Jake:
I echo those same thoughts because I feel like when you see that investment into a culture and into, you know, making the stores and their retail fronts, as well as their online presence just look really uniform. It makes me see the investment they made and makes me want to myself invest into their products. And just some words that written down regarding values that I value for companies is inclusivity, diversity, awareness, and authenticity. So I think that branding strategy really assist in communicating those values out to their consumers and the public.
Alex:
Hmm. And is this something that do you feel that is personalized for you or so even when it comes to things like aesthetic, you know, Emma, you've got a very specific aesthetic yourself. So are you more attracted to other brands that have that same aesthetic or are you just attracted to something that like, they look good and it comes together? Well,
Emmae:
I think for things that I'm going to buy for myself, it has to be my aesthetic. However, brands that I just follow and respect and appreciate on Instagram, they absolutely have other aesthetics. There are things I would recommend to other friends. Totally. just cause I admire it and appreciate it. And if, you know, if they're putting out content, that's not even just the branded products, I'm going to like look to them as an authority. Like, Oh, that brand has a really great perspective. I wonder what they posted about this month on this like topic or if they said anything about this event
Cody:
And what about you mentioned the, the storefronts, but what about when you actually go into a physical store beyond their social media, you may have interacted with them. You may have seen their social media, but then walking into their shop. What are you expecting? And what's going to stand out for you in that, especially you J.
Jake:
I really expect to see that messaging carry over into the interaction with the staff that you have. I feel like it's super easy to have a mission statement and to have, you know, branding guides and slogans, but when you go in somewhere and you see that really executed through conversations and through just their attitude about how they do things, it's really inspiring to me.
Cody:
That's so good. I think that's really important as well, because we know for gen Z, especially you guys are doing so much research about a brand before you go into the store, if it's a physical location. So you've been to their website, you kind of learned what they're about. You visited their social media pages. So, you know, or you framed up what you're going to expect when you go into the location. Does that match up with what they've conveyed online? Sometimes it does it, and that's really easy to call out. Like you're saying, Jake, you quickly know, okay, this is not aligned with what you post on your website and how you've carved out your core values and what you've told me that you believe in. I don't get that same experience whenever I come into your store. So from a retail perspective, we retailers have to think about that, that everybody coming into their store more than likely knows more about them than they ever have previously. And there's those standards that you've set you truly have to live up to.
Alex:
Yeah, definitely. I it's a hundred percent like your digital storefront is, is your storefront these days. Like you're not necessarily getting the traffic always walking past your storefront. You now have the opportunity to reach people who might not necessarily just walk past your store to really engage and capture that. But then the, the tension there and the tricky part is making sure that that's a consistent flow. So there's not some kind of jarring experience when you've had that interaction online versus going into the, into the store to your point now, given you guys on line so much as well, you kind of used to paying virtually with Apple, your digital wallet, things like that. You don't necessarily have a card at hand. Anytime. I know I have my card details saved in my digital wallet. So it's really just a press of a button and I don't even need to remember anything. So what's it like for you when you go in store, do you still want those touchless experiences or are you looking for you don't mind working your card out when you're in the store?
Jake:
Yes, absolutely. I love using my digital wallet. That's like the sound that it makes on my phone when you click it, it's like, it's just so pleasing to me.
Alex:
A little, little Active dopamine.
Jake:
Yes. Yes.
Cody:
The sound is so much better than the act of swiping a card or in starting a car that little to tearing it. Like it's, it makes all the difference. It's like, I want to go spend,
Alex:
Okay. Retail is take note right there. And this is how you encourage people to spend more money, that little shot of dopamine. What about Emmae?
Emmae:
Honestly, I don't super care that much. I usually just use my card when I go places still. So that's, I would say that's not a big of a deal to me. There are different stores that I've been in where you can like scan QR codes and like learn things like really quickly or like different integrations like that. Just again, they feel super modern and it makes me trust the brand more like, Oh, they have this technology. They probably have a lot of technology behind their product and behind the research of their product and stuff like that. And I don't think about that perfectly every time, but it's kind of more on a subconscious level.
Cody:
That's such a good point for that just really quick, Alex, because I think restaurants had to do this really well with COVID and having the touchless experiences. And if you go to a restaurant and you sit at a table, they're not providing you menus, there's a QR code that you scan there. So we've talked with retailers about how do you, in a situation where let's say the store is busy in a particular day, someone comes in, you're a jeweler, right? And they're over at the bottle showcases and no one can get to them just yet. But what if you had a QR code there, they could scan that and start reading about your bridal experience before a sales team member has had a chance to come over and talk to them. So it gives them a bit more to do versus just standing there and waiting for somebody that does provide that experience and what we're talking about. That's a good point.
Alex:
Yeah. It also frames up questions that they can be prepared to ask, because I know when I go into a store, sometimes, you know, recently I bought an electric scooter and I went in, I'm like, cool, what do I need to ask? Like, I don't know what the hell, I don't know anything about these things. Like, what do I, what should I ask? You know? So even having something that encourages people to then seek out and ask the questions, cause that barriers or already been broken that's really good, but I loved how you framed this around trust in me because I do see that and we will speak about values even some, some more. And, and Jake you've already pointed that out as well. That values is so important for the gen Z consumer. And I think that's trickling into the other generations as well, more and more. So the values that brands have are actually really important to us as consumers. So having that trust factor behind and actually trusting the people behind the brand and trusting that they know what they're doing seems really important. So I love that point just quickly before we do jump into the next topic I'm really interested to know what platforms you guys are really on and shopping on and doing your research on.
Emmae:
I would say that for discovery, it's absolutely always on Pinterest. All the Pinterest knows really well, all the colors, I like the jewelry. I like the fashion, everything, my exact aesthetic, just because I've spent so much time curating collections on there. And so every time I open Pinterest, I see lots of things that I think are beautiful. And it's just a really quick, easy way to find new brands. I can even take brands that I know I like and scroll up on Pinterest and find new brands that are similar or new pieces of jewelry that are similar and Instagram. I feel like I open a page and you have like one eye shot worth to show me something that I think is beautiful, that I think is a Mae and unique. And if you don't like, I'm out, like I'm not interested in on Pinterest. I feel like I can open it and see 10 things that I think are beautiful immediately. And there's just not another platform or space where I get that from a discovery standpoint.
Alex:
Now I'm really interested to hear you say Pinterest, because I feel like they might be a little bit of a misconception that Pinterest is dead. That it's for the craft hobbyists and not for anyone else, but you're actually saying as a gen Z, that you go on there and discover new brands, things that you like specifically that it's actually a really a search engine for you.
Emmae:
Yeah, no, it absolutely is. It's, it's an aesthetic visual search engine. Like it it's so awesome at like recognizing down to like colors down to like, I don't really like squares. I don't like straight lines. I like squirrels. Like it just knows that it's really, really amazing.
Alex:
Oh man, I love that. I love that. It can see exactly what you like and then points you in the right directions for certain things. Jake, what, what are your experiences with Pinterest? And is it something that you gravitate towards?
Jake:
It's something that I honestly don't gravitate towards. I would like to give it a try, but I feel like most of my discovery comes from influencers that I follow on Instagram and on YouTube, I feel like YouTube is a very large resource for me because I love seeing products in use. And I love seeing them in motion and not just in static images. For example, I recently purchased a Peloton bike and the first thing I did was watched 10 videos on how it works. What's it about what kind of content they have. And I just love visually seeing people using the product and an effect.
Alex:
I mean, both these examples, speak to the personalization though, of what you're looking for as a consumer. So for you, you really want to see somebody specifically using the product and how it works and end visualizing how you're going to fit into that space as well. And for Uma, it's having that visualization of like, this is what I love does that fit into that as well. And so I think that's a really good point to be made when we go into who we're reaching and where we're reaching them, because the more that we can personalize it and make you envisage yourself with that product or that product is a part of your aesthetic and how that fits in and it looks and feels for you guys. That's a, that's a really important piece of the marketing aspect. I do want us to jump into the next topic around our values because that is going to be really important. But before we do that, we're just going to take a quick break and hear from our side,
Mike:
Our clients know that it doesn't matter how great your website is. If people can't find it, podium helps you get found and chosen by making it easier to get reviews from your happiest customers, just by sending a simple review request through text. In fact, with podium, every step of your customer journey is powered by text messaging. So you can talk to your customers on the channel. They prefer start the conversation on your website with podium, web chat, set, appointments, answer questions, and close deals all in the same thread. When it's time to pay, just send a request over text so your customers can pay in seconds. And now that you've got a happy customer, send them a review invite over text too. So you can rise up the local rankings, start the cycle all over again with all this plus powerful integrations and features in one consolidated inbox, promoting Mister tool for customer communication, send a text, get more done. A bunch of our clients will receive 25% off when they sign up for podium, learn more at podium.com/punch Mark. Thanks back to the show.
Alex:
So now we're going to talk about values, which I'm very excited to push into because I do think this is a big part of the gen Z consumer and Jake you've actually already touched on this. So let's start with you. What kind of values do you really hold or expect a company to hold at their core mission, vision and execution all the way through
Jake:
First, I would like to start off with saying that I believe that our generation is hyper aware of the world and what's going on and we want to be engaged in what's happening. And so I feel like we extend that to brands as well, and we want to be engaged in what's going on. So in my personal opinion, I feel like I want a brand to be inclusive to who I am have a diverse voice and just be authentic. You know, I want to be able to hear what they're saying and feel like it's coming from their heart and feel like it's coming from a place of truth.
Alex::
How do you connect those dots? Because especially with social media and a lot of the social justice issues that are happening over the past year, or even with COVID, you know, someone might put a post up on social, but how do you, how can you tell that it's authentic? I believe
Jake:
When the purpose really comes behind highlighting the issue and not behind commercialism, it really speaks volumes to the people behind that brand. And it makes me want to engage with them even more, even though not necessarily they're marketing a product, they're marketing a vision to me, I feel like I have that shared value with them and I want to engage with them.
Alex:
And are you more likely to buy a product from them and you know, you're engaged and you're following them. Are you then likely to take the next step and actually purchase from them? Or are you still depending like basing your purchase on the product itself?
Jake:
Oh yeah, absolutely. That is a big determining factor for me, especially when there are comparable products on the market. Even if one is marginally better, say from a less supportive company with less voice and it's, it's better. I would almost always go with the one with the better values, just because I know that even though the product might do, you know, things a little less than my expectations, I would know that there was a sound state of mind behind it, even there's research that shows that when it comes to values, you're willing to pay a premium for a company that does hold those values. So Jake, what you're saying, even if let's say the product is a bit less in terms of features, but maybe it still cost more because you are fully along with the brain and what they stand for. You're willing to make that premium purchase because it aligns with your core values over the other company that maybe it doesn't do that quite as well. Yeah, absolutely.
Alex:
You likely to see something from that brand and then sit on it for a while before you then go and purchase something. Or is it in your research for a particular product that you're like, Oh, this brand, I like what they're saying, I'm going to buy from them immediately.
Jake:
I feel like it's definitely a contributing factor. It's one of those things where it's like when comparing brands to each other and the products they offer that is definitely a big step up for me. And it makes me feel, you know, trustworthy to their products and what they offer in the future too. So let's say I decide to buy a product from a brand that aligns with my values. It will have me further and climb to continue supporting that brand and to even ignore the other ones.
Alex:
Yeah. Interesting. And what about you ma what about you and the value sets that you see in the brands that you follow?
Emmae:
I think for me, sustainability is huge. I want to make sure that, you know, this is not hurting other people that this is well made. This is sustainably made. And to me, sustainability, if a company cares about the sustainability of their products and just its impact on the earth that tells me that they actually care about the quality of their products as well. So like outside of like the world impact, I think this product is probably better made. Cause I shows that there, they have a care for the little details. So I really look for that. I also look for just like what they think about people, how they care about people. That's all really reflected in their missions and what you see on their social. When I'm finding a brand that I'm going to spend more money on that I want to latch on to, I, I want to be able to view them as an authority, but it's really like what brands are I feel like to me is just like something, a personality that I can like respect and integrate into my personal style and personal life style.
And so when they take these like important stances that's something I want to see. I want to be able to agree with and wonder what they think about things. So
Cody:
I have a stat to back that up for what Emma is saying. 64% of gen Z ears will pay more for eco-friendly products. So that really aligns with what you were saying in may about sustainability and looking to seek that out. And it exactly ties back to what Jake's saying too about paying a premium for that. So it's not a detriment if you focus on eco-friendly sustainability, that it really could add value to younger consumers.
Emmae:
I think it's also interesting. Like, you know, when you shop, there's a certain like rush you get after you like buys, find something really awesome and like shop. And for me, it's kind of like if I buy something and shop from some brand that I know has a kind of a bad reputation, isn't very sustainable has, you know, has some bad articles about them. I don't really get that same feeling of like contentment and like satisfaction after buying from them. Whereas if I buy from somewhere that I know is sustainable, I get this new product. I'm like, this is awesome. It was made out of X, Y, and Z. And it supports this. I feel like that rush is even greater.
Alex:
I love that. It's that it's the chain of the digital wallet. Right. But it's like continuing on after your purchase. I have one last question for you ma is how do you know it's going back to that authenticity, like how do you know that what the brand is saying is actually what they stand for and then not just putting it out there to, as part of their branding to look good.
Emmae:
Yeah. I mean, I, for me, it's it really, I, I trust them. Like I trust what I read on websites. I definitely do do my research. And especially when I'm really about to add to cart, like I'm going to go to the about page. I'm going to, I want some facts. Like I do want some rational stuff behind that. I want, you know, I want some numbers, I want some, some blog articles and some authority on some of those things in order to trust them.
Alex:
Yeah. It's making sure that the information is accessible and then even the I guess the continuation of putting that mission out, because you never know when someone's going to see it and it's all well and good to put one post out there that States your mission, but not everyone might see that. And then what are you posting after that? Or what are you putting on your website then the lines with that as well is really important. Well, guys, thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us today. This is just part one where we're going to be sitting down and digging even deeper into a couple of other topics for part two of our series. So make sure that you stay tuned listeners. I want you to make sure that you hear Jason MAs thoughts on our other topics around gen Z consumer ship. So thank you for listening in today and we'll see you.
Mike:
Hey, thanks for listening. Leave us a rating and a review on Apple podcasts and remember to subscribe. It really helps us grow. Thank you so much. See you next week.