‘When it comes to Gen Z, businesses need to work with, not against, the zeitgeist’

The nation loves a good old whinge about Gen Z, don’t they? A quick scan of recent headlines in the national press in the last week throws up endless negative generalisations borne of myriad pieces of research and ‘expert’ musings.

As follows: “Gen Z has turned against taking middle management roles”. “Gen Z’s hypocrisy has made Greta Thunberg look a fool”. “Gen Z and millennials throw away food before it’s gone off, says Harvard study”. The best one? “The world will end when Gen Z takes charge”. Granted, that was from Jeremy Clarkson so let’s not give the latter too much airtime.

There is a huge amount of reporting on Gen Z (born between 1997 and 2012), and largely futile analysis of the traits that many in the older generations find, frankly, irksome. My question is, to what end? What does this constant conversation about their perceived failings achieve?

These observations come without an ounce of defensiveness – I don’t even qualify as a millennial.

I’m also already anticipating a backlash from those who object to generational labelling

I felt prompted to comment on the underlying negativity towards Gen Z after a comment made by Snap UK managing director Bridget Lea, speaking at Retail Week and The Grocer’s annual LIVE conference last week. She concluded: “Look beyond the headlines and get to know Gen Z properly. The future of your brand depends on it”. And Snap should know all about how they live their lives because this social media platform reaches a staggering 90% of 13-to 24-year-olds in the UK.

Why does the future of your brand depend on empathising with Gen Z? Well, as Lea articulated, first and foremost this generation has a spending power expected to reach $13trn by 2030. That’s a figure that should start to focus minds.

But does the constant drip-feeding of exasperation-loaded Gen Z column inches detract businesses from keeping pace? Does it preclude them from being excited about a demanding generation that is challenging them to adapt and think differently? Does it subconsciously make people want to rail against rather than properly prepare for this group of employees and consumers?

Take the case of the working environment. How much of the decision behind many companies’ back-to-the-office mandates is actually a response to older generations’ failure to empathise with and adapt to the younger generations’ mindsets? Like it or not, flexibility is a key driver for them. How long will it take for these mandates to backfire?

The point is not about simply defending Gen Z.

The point is that businesses need to work with, not against, the zeitgeist

The pace of evolution needs to ramp up. Understanding these shoppers and building this behavioural insight into long-term planning is central to the evolution of retail and brands’ ability to survive.

It should be a challenge posed to every leader in every facet of a retail business, from stores to ecommerce, from sourcing to delivery, from recruitment to the workplace environment, from sustainability to payments, and from marketing to data.

Tapping into this generation’s demands should be viewed as an intellectual and creative challenge, not a chore. Let’s embrace Gen Z’s love of convenience. Let’s be intrigued by their demands for more – more tech, more experiences, more interaction, more content, more purchase validation from peers, more likes, more shares, more AI… the list goes on.

Some bemoan the influencer generation’s perceived self-obsession (‘Hi, guys!’). Many smirk at the love of user-generated content. Perhaps they should instead applaud boldness, self-confidence and creativity.

It’s time to reframe thinking because time is running out. Energy expended on wishing certain traits didn’t exist might be better spent on being more curious. After all, retail faces a challenge in finding the growth levers of tomorrow. Getting the proposition right for this cohort will be one of them.