As cookies head toward the exit door and consumer privacy stays at the forefront of selling discussions, it has turn into increasingly necessary to get a pulse on digital tactics like targeted ads that may turn off some consumers. In a bit of probably excellent news for marketers, recent research suggests that younger consumers may be more comfortable with targeted promoting, and actually may prefer it.
Compared to older consumers, Gen Zers are thrice as likely to allow tracking when presented with prompts resembling those for Apple’s App Tracking Transparency, according to research from Tinuiti. Approximately 37% of Gen Z consumers allowed tracking so as to see more relevant promoting, with the remaining 43% opting out. For baby boomers, the overwhelming majority opted out.
How Gen Z consumers protect themselves online is also dramatically different compared to baby boomers. Gen Z consumers were less likely to clear their browser cookies (41% vs. 59%) or to use an ad blocker (27% vs. 32%). However, Gen Z consumers were more likely to use a VPN (32% vs. 27%).
“[A] piece that stood out was how much more likely Gen Zers are to say they like to allow tracking so as to receive relevant ads compared to older cohorts, in addition to how much less likely Gen Zers are to take actions like clearing cookies and deploying ad blockers,” said Andy Taylor, vice chairman of research at Tinuiti, in emailed remarks to Marketing Dive.
The report drew data from five different surveys, totaling more than 5,000 respondents. The data was collected between February and April of 2023. Of the surveys, three checked out CPG categories, one checked out sentiment around online privacy and one checked out Prime members’ attitudes toward Prime Day.
The power of social media
While it might not be a surprise that TikTok is the go-to for Gen Z product discovery, the role of influencers cannot be overstated. Over 75% of Gen Zers reported buying a product based the advice of an influencer in the past yr, far greater than for baby boomers. When only beauty and food and beverage products, that number jumps to 85%.
“Influencers are quickly becoming a trusted source of recommendations for a lot of consumers, especially Gen Zers, and their role in product discovery and purchases is only going to grow from here,” said Taylor.
Gen Zers are more likely to research a product prior to purchase than other generations. This applies to online shopping in addition to in-store purchases. According to the report, Gen Z is more likely than baby boomers to seek for a product or brand on a search engine (43% vs. 36%), seek for a product or brand on social media (33% vs. 7%) or scan a QR code (25% vs. 9%).
These young consumers aren’t just searching for information on a product, according to the research. Seventy-four percent of Gen Z CPG shoppers indicated that the values and beliefs of the brand they’re purchasing from were at the very least somewhat necessary to them, the next share than for every other generation.
Where Gen Z does their shopping is also different from older consumers. According to the report, 59% of Gen Zers bought CPG products from grocery stores, compared to 79% of baby boomers. Approximately 20% of Gen Z consumers did their grocery shopping on a delivery platform, compared to just 5% of baby boomers.
“The extent to which social media as a complete, and TikTok particularly, is credited with Gen Z product discovery is astounding, and marketers undeniably have to take this into consideration in trying to grow awareness and consideration with younger consumers,” said Taylor. “Social media’s influence even extends to the in-store experience, as Gen Zers were far more likely than older generations to search on social media for brands while doing research in stores.”
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