When it comes to choosing what fashion trends to follow, not many Gen Zers are looking to their friends for pointers, according to what social media game creator Sulake found in a survey of Hotel Hideaway users. Hotel Hideaway is a 3D virtual world that has 15 million members worldwide. It’s largely a Gen Z crowd (ages 17 to 25) with a 60% female/40% male avatar split.
65% of its users follow the latest fashion trends, but only 3% do so by following how their friends dress. Also, 43% claim they have their own style and don’t look at the style of others. These people say they’re motivated by other reasons to purchase, but only 6% are motivated by what their friends say.
Since social media is primarily about spreading influence and following others, this digital-first group would seem to be tough for marketers to crack. So what else drives them to purchase? Here are the top five motivators:
- Price (48%);
- Social responsibility (16%);
- Sustainable fashion (10%);
- Influencers on social (9%) and
- Brand advertising (6%).
Why we care: We’ve seen this ethos in other studies that reinforce Gen Z’s demand for individuality. It’s easy in a virtual world like Hotel Hideaway to generate unique outfits for avatars, but is it so different for Gen Zers when they search the endless digital e-commerce landscape for real fashion to buy and wear? With a few taps they can discover what influencers are wearing on social media, look for related items that are similar but not identical, read about the company’s ethics and sustainability mission, and find the clothing second-hand on reseller apps like Poshmark. Young digital natives with access to these kinds of shopping tools have taken uniqueness to another level.
Keeping this in mind, marketers should also take a close look at their ad spend return. Is brand advertising (6%) really not that influential for driving purchases, or are Gen Z consumers just having a hard time admitting it? It doesn’t have to be a guessing game, especially not with Gen Z. If they are more digital in their purchasing than other consumers, they generate more data for marketers to analyze.
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