The purchasing path of Generation Z in the United States is revealed! Social media influencers play an important role

U.S. consumers, especially those in Generation Z, are increasingly turning to social media influencers and online communities to make purchasing decisions, according to a study of more than 2,000 U.S. adults from Oracle and CRM Essentials.

The research revealed that 37% of overall respondents trust social media influencers more than brands; Gen Z and Millennial respondents were twice as likely to trust influencers as Baby Boomers.

Gen Z respondents were the most likely to discover products and brands through influencers (32%), compared to 28% of respondents overall and just 13% of baby boomers surveyed.

Additionally, 84% of Gen Z respondents have purchased a product recommended by a direct social media influencer, compared to just 46% of the Baby Boomers surveyed. Conversely, Baby Boomers surveyed are seven times more likely than Gen Z respondents to discover new products and brands through traditional TV advertising, while only 13% of respondents use this product discovery medium.

When it comes to following influencers, YouTube is the most popular channel overall, with 21% of respondents following influencers on YouTube. However, Gen Z respondents prefer TikTok (25%), followed closely by YouTube (23%) and Instagram (22%), while baby boomers surveyed prefer Facebook (23%), YouTube (15%) and TikTok (5%).

A recent consumer survey by CMGroup shows that Generation Z shoppers rely more on social media as a source of product information than other generations of consumers.

Nearly half (49%) of Gen Z respondents in the CMGroup survey said they get news and information from YouTube, compared to 37% of millennial respondents. In addition, 23% of Gen Z respondents share news and information on TikTok, twice as many as any other generation.

The survey also examined trends in customer service, with notable findings including:

Nearly all (98%) respondents find brand customer service frustrating.

Only 18% of respondents would like to call customer service when they have a question, including 26% of Baby Boomers and 14% of Gen Z respondents.

When submitting a service inquiry to a brand, 31% of respondents would prefer to leave a comment on a brand’s social media page, and 24% would prefer to send a brand a direct message on social media. Gen Z is twice as likely as Baby Boomers to want to receive customer service this way.

Respondents trust YouTube and TikTok videos because they are created by other consumers (20%), are easily searchable (19%), are illustrative (16%), and have a variety of options (14%).

As younger generations, millennials and Gen Z increasingly have greater purchasing power, the powerful dynamic between user-generated content and today’s social platforms presents brands with an opportunity to reimagine the shopping experience.

Editor✎ Ashley/

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