Decoding Gen Z Consumer Choices: Insights From Experts

“Like any coin, Gen Z is self-centered and socially conscious at the same time,” said Karthi Marshan, Communicator, Marketer & Learner decoding the behavioural pattern of the most hyped consumer generation ‘Gen Z’. Marshan was speaking at the Festival of Marketing, organised by BW MarketingWorld in New Delhi on Saturday.

He said just like any other age group of consumers, Gen Z is also full of contradiction and confusion. So, painting a singular stereotype won't work.

Classifying Gen Z, Ashish Mishra, Executive Vice President of Marketing, Acko said, it is a young group spanning the ages 11 to 26 in 2023 (born between 1997 -2012) and may not seem like a relevant consumer to many marketers now. "But in the coming years, the majority of this group will turn 30 and may be profitable then. But the fact is at present they too have a strong purchasing power", Mishra added.

The Acko EVP stressed that while designing a marketing plan for Gen Z, a different level of mindset is required, and if done rightly, these young champs will surely bring profits.

Stressing the Gen Z grouping pattern Amit Tiwari, Global Head of Marketing Demand Centre, TCS said, "The Gen Z class should be not restricted to a certain age as there are many above the defined age and still resemble the behavioural pattern like an 11 to 26 years individual". He emphasised that a marketer should first decide on the consumer classification whether it is demographics or behaviour based and then process the marketing.

He underlined that to market a particular product today, the three ‘T’s are important – Trust, Transparency, and Technology.

Furthermore, speaking about AI and the recent ChatGPT boom, Mishra said a marketer should use and enjoy this smart technology but should not forget the fundamentals of storytelling because in the end communication brings in business revenues.

Echoing the Acko leader, Marshan said, "It is also significant to follow the rules and regulations of marketing for keeping the authenticity among the targeted consumers". He said, for example,

if you are selling ‘Cola’ which has sugar in it, make sure you don’t preach to your consumer about health. Staying true as a brand is of great importance, he added.

On similar lines, Tiwari said for brand marketing, purpose and authenticity in storytelling are significant. The majority of marketers often get confused with the right communication as they concentrate on achieving big in a short time space so this needs to be avoided.

Concluding the insightful session, the experts further proposed ‘fundas’ for young marketers. Tiwari said, keep up the ethical checks and do good work. Marshan stressed as a youngster you have an opportunity to change and don't lose it. Lastly, Mishra said AI will not take your job but wrong marketing fundaments will surely do so.