The generation born between 1997 and 2012 is entering its full purchasing-power phase, and its shopping habits are upending traditional sales models. Social media instead of search engines, the physical store as a content studio, and brand loyalty dependent on authenticity — not on advertising budget. Here's what drives the purchasing decisions of Gen Z and why every brand needs to understand it today.
The Generation Redefining Shopping
Just a decade ago, people said retail had to learn to speak the language of millennials. Today, those adaptations look like a warm-up. Gen Z — the generation that doesn't know life without the internet and smartphones — is not just another segment to be served. It's a generation that is changing the very architecture of the purchasing process, from product discovery all the way to the payment decision.
According to estimates by NielsenIQ and GfK in collaboration with World Data Lab, the purchasing power of Gen Z will grow to $12 trillion by 2030. Even now — according to Statista data — the global annual spending of this generation exceeds $450 billion. The numbers are impressive, but how "Zs" decide where and what to spend their money on matters more than the amounts.
"Gen Z doesn't ask whether a product is good.It asks whether the brand is real. And if the answer is 'I don't know' — you've already lost."
– marketing strategy expert, comment for the retail industry, 2025.
TikTok as the New Search Engine
Before a "Z" ever reaches a product page, they go through a completely different path than previous generations. They don't start with Google. They start with TikTok, Instagram, or content from creators they've been following for months.
According to PwC Holiday Outlook 2025 research, as many as 43% of Gen Z plan to use social media to discover gifts, 39% for research, and 32% to compare offers before buying.
Importantly, Capgemini data from 2024 shows that 60% of Gen Z consumers have found a new product or brand through social media — nearly twice as many as among shoppers overall. Equally important is the next step: discovery through an influencer translates into a purchase far more often than with older generations.
"For Gen Z, social media isn't an advertising channel — it's the environment where they live, learn, and make decisions. A brand that isn't there simply doesn't exist." – Anna Kowalska, strategic digital director, Mediarun.com, 2025.
This discovery mechanism has key consequences for brands.
The "Z" shopping journey is non-linear: it starts in social media, passes through online comparisons and reviews, and ends — increasingly often — in a physical store or through a quick mobile purchase. The classic sales funnel loses its raison d'être here.
The Return to the Store — But a Completely Different One
The paradox of Gen Z is that the generation considered the most digital in history is not abandoning physical stores at all — quite the opposite.
According to PwC Holiday Outlook 2025, 61% of Gen Z prefer discovering new products in a store, and the number planning more frequent offline shopping in 2025 rose by as much as 10 percentage points compared with the previous year — to 37%.
Why? The reasons are specifically generational. Above all, it's about touching and seeing the product (41% cite this reason), but the atmosphere is equally important — the physical store has become a space for experiences and... content creation. Hashtags like #shopwithme or #mallhaul on TikTok generate millions of views, turning visits to shopping centres into material for social profiles. For Gen Z, a physical store isn't just a place to buy — it's a studio.
This shift has a direct impact on omnichannel strategies. Brands that think of stores solely as points of sale miss the chance to become part of the daily content of millions of young consumers.
Price-Conscious, But Not Cheap
Another myth to debunk: Gen Z isn't looking for the cheapest option. It's looking for the best — and it understands "best" far more broadly than previous generations. PwC data shows that over 79% of "Zs" wait for promotions, and only 21% regularly pay full price. But at the same time, the same group: 59% still prefer familiar brands, 49% want personalised products, and as many as 64% are willing to pay more for eco-friendly or sustainable products.
Even more telling is the signal from the financial market: according to J.P. Morgan Customer Insights data, since May 2024, credit card payments among Gen Z have for the first time exceeded debit card payments — a reversal of the trend that may indicate growing financial confidence, but also a changing philosophy of consumption for this generation.
"Zs aren't loyal to brands — they're loyal to values.If a brand lives by what it preaches, it gains fans. If it only pretends — it loses them instantly, publicly, and irreversibly."
– Piotr Nowak, consumer behaviour analyst, Market Research Institute, 2025.
Authenticity, Not Advertising
At the heart of Gen Z purchasing decisions lies a concept that earlier generations of marketers treated as a soft add-on: authenticity.
According to research cited by Shopify, 68% of "Zs" treat shopping as a reflection of their own identity, and 34% (versus 24% of shoppers overall) put brand authenticity first among decision-making factors.
Gen Z Purchasing Decisions — What Drives Young Consumers
This explains why influencer marketing works differently for this generation than for older groups. It's not about a creator's reach — it's about credibility. Gen Z distinguishes an organic recommendation from a paid placement with a precision that can surprise even experienced marketers. Content that looks like an ad gets skipped. Content that looks like a natural conversation gets bought.
Effective campaigns aimed at this generation share several traits: they are native to the platform (especially TikTok and short video formats), they use creators who speak credibly, they build emotion through humour, nostalgia, or FOMO, and — crucially — they don't sell the product directly, but rather an experience or the value of the brand.
Polish Examples That Hit the Mark
Polish brands are increasingly adept at operating in this new paradigm. The Ptasie Mleczko® campaign "Dzieje się… BARDZIEJ" showed how a classic brand can speak through TikTok aesthetics, segmenting its message for younger audiences and tapping into a trending visual style. Grycan achieved a similar effect, using influencers returning to childhood flavours to create a campaign that combined the emotion of nostalgia with a viral sharing mechanism.
Citikonto took a different direction, speaking to "Zs" in the language of TikTok itself — memetic, light, devoid of banking stiffness. This proves that even categories perceived as difficult or "boring" can capture Gen Z's attention if they only accept the rules of the platform where that conversation takes place.
The LEGO Creative Club campaign, meanwhile, opted for a series of video podcasts with creators combining passion and storytelling — instead of selling the product, it sold inspiration and a lifestyle.
Reviews, BNPL, and AI — the Generation's Tools
Contrary to the stereotype of the impulsive consumer, Gen Z is a very conscious generation in the purchasing process.
According to research cited by Snipp, 68% of "Zs" will read or watch at least 3 reviews before first buying a product, and one in six will consult as many as nine or more. The decision path can run through reviews on Amazon, unboxings on YouTube, mentions on TikTok, and threads on Reddit — all before a "Z" clicks "buy."
Buy Now, Pay Later is also playing a growing role. According to LendingTree, 64% of Gen Z have tried this payment method at least once, and its share of payment preferences during holiday shopping rose from 5% in 2024 to 11% in 2025 (PwC data).
At the same time, nearly 75% of Gen Z expressed interest in using artificial intelligence in the purchasing process — the highest result of all generations, more than 15 percentage points above the consumer average (Statista, 2024 data).
What This Means for Brands — Five Operational Takeaways
Understanding Gen Z shopping habits is one thing. Translating that knowledge into concrete action is another.
The data and case studies point to several priorities that brands should treat as mandatory, not optional:
- Social media as the entry point — a presence on TikTok and Instagram isn't an image option, but the primary product discovery channel. Content must look like natural content, not like an ad.
- Creators instead of celebrities — Gen Z trusts the authenticity of micro-influencers more than the reach of stars. Credibility is this generation's currency.
- The store as an experience — physical space must become a place worth visiting and showing off. A venue's "Instagrammability" and "TikTokability" are real choice factors.
- Mobile and frictionless checkout — 98% of Gen Z own a smartphone, and 55% complete purchases on mobile (Statista data). Every second of loading and every extra step in the cart is lost sales.
- Values, not just value — 66% of Gen Z prefer eco-friendly brands, and nearly 68% treat shopping as an expression of identity. A brand without a clear character and values simply doesn't exist in this generation's awareness.
Outlook and Conclusions for the Market
PwC data for the first months of 2025 show that Gen Z has cut overall spending by 13% — especially in the fashion, accessories, and electronics categories. Plans for the 2025 holiday season assume further cuts of 23%. But it would be a mistake to interpret this as an outflow of loyalty or a loss of interest in brands.
It is rather a manifestation of selectivity, characteristic of Gen Z: "Zs" cut everyday spending so they can afford the things that truly matter to them.
This is where the biggest lesson for marketers and retail strategists lies. Gen Z is not a generation that "buys cheap." It's a generation that invests well — in brands that understand their values, speak their language, and enable frictionless shopping. Companies that understand this in 2025 and 2026 are building a relationship with a generation whose purchasing power — $12 trillion by 2030 — is only now gaining momentum.
