From your resident Gen Z in India, here’s an all-you-need-to-know guide on how to win us over—the up-and-coming spenders! We’ll take a closer look at what exactly makes Gen Z tick and how to appeal to them as the newest generational consumer, especially in regard to nuances in the Indian, Australian, and Southeast Asian markets.
Who is Gen Z?
Gen Z or Zoomers, are tech-savvy digital natives born between 1997 and 2015. They share similar interests and overlap the ’90s and ’00s during formative years just like Millennials, but they’re a distinctly unique generation. Elder Zoomers are now approaching adulthood, finishing college, and entering the workforce—and they’re doing it all throughout a global pandemic.
Here’s the 411 on Gen Z:
- They’re the largest generation, taking up 30% of the world population—about two billion individuals.
- They hold 40% of all consumer spending—$143B in buying power.
- This generation is extremely influential: Gen X looks up to them, Millennials want to be them, and Boomers take their advice.
- Gen Z is starting to enter the workforce much earlier than millennials and they're doing so in a recession caused by COVID-19, forcing them to sharpen their money management skills earlier.
- Gen Z knows their way around technology, however when it comes to shopping, they like to see a product in person, and a trip to the store is only based on convenience.
- Gen Z has a super short attention span and access to multiple devices with unlimited content but they're also binge-watchers and content creation can win or tank depending on how involved Gen Z is in the process.
What Does Gen Z Care About?
Keeping these details in mind, you may ask yourself, what does this mean for my brand? I'd like to introduce you to the multidimensional decision-making process created by Gen Z. The more you check off, the more you check the vibe. Let’s break it down:
Brand values: Out of all the generations, Zoomers are the most sensitive when associating with a brand, they care about their image and want to know if the brand aligns to the core values they possess whether it’s sustainability, diversity and inclusion, or the ethical and social causes your brand invests in.
Influence: Gen Z doesn't want to hear what the brand says about itself, but whether the brand has piqued the interest of their friends or top influencers.
Transparency and accountability: It’s important to build trust and connection with Gen Z. The more transparent and accountable you are as a brand—all the way down to the details of your supply chain—the more they’ll gravitate towards you.
Their phones: You won’t find a Zoomer who doesn’t have their mobile phone firmly attached. This stresses the importance of having a user-friendly mobile-optimized site or app.
Uniqueness and authenticity: In the Gen Z world, there’s only one planet and it’s connected on the internet. There’s so much overlap in people and cultures around the world-hopping on the latest trends that the demand for uniqueness has never been so high. Niche small businesses and brands that offer variety are pacing the highest revenue because they have authenticity nailed down.
Personalization: As the first generation of digital natives, Gen Z has seen it all and they’re missing that more human, personal connection looking for brands to connect with them through a personalized customer experience.
Deals: Gen Z loves a good bang for their buck (who doesn’t?) however, Gen Z is more deal conscious than price-focused. However, between a good deal and fast, unique shopping experiences, the latter would prevail!
Gen Z in APAC
Now time for a personal plug—Hi! I’m Tracel, Growth Manager, Publisher Development for India, Australia, and Southeast Asia. My team and I are experts on these extremely nuanced markets. With that established, let’s dive into the market nuances for Gen Z in India, Australia, and Southeast Asia.
India
Instagram and YouTube are the access points to Indian Gen Z (TikTok is banned), but Indians are traditionally harder to convert at this point in the journey. Messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram as well as micro-influencers can be helpful sales drivers. Even the biggest coupon/loyalty publishers have interest groups created for like-minded individuals to hear first about product launches or the best deals in the market. Publishers can plug in their affiliate link and code for these groups to allow users to create their own trackable link to pass onto their family and friends (and with the social nature of Indians, this method is not just working, it’s bringing in the moolah!)
Another new affiliate trend forming in India is meme marketing. Meme marketing takes a humorous emotional approach that can quickly go viral with the right combination of familiarity and humor.
Older Zoomers are entering or already in university and with the rise of micro-influencers, brands are promoting themselves through campus ambassadors and university-aged zoomers, leveraging word of mouth and trackable vanity codes that harness both online and offline marketing.
Southeast Asia
Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam have one thing in common—influencers galore! Social media is deep-rooted in Southeast Asian Gen Z-ers, which has put all power in the hands of influencers. The whole realm of influencers—from micro to KOLs—creates compelling calls to action to buy the products they’re using.
Zoomers in these regions need all relevant information and they need it now, which led brands and publishers to adopt Shoppertainment such as gamification, live-streamed mini-TV shows, competitions, and product demonstrations to educate the buyer while keeping marketing content light.
Southeast Asia follows suit to its counterparts China, Japan, and Korea when it comes to advance technology, live streaming, virtual reality, e-gaming, and the beauty craze.
Australia
In APAC, Australia is more of a mature market than its neighbors. Going back to the importance of social issues such as sustainability, Australians are willing to pay extra if brands prove their green efforts.
Cross promoting your brand is favorable in Australia and 61% of Gen Zers surveyed consider brands that collaborate with other trendy brands more interesting. It’s the segment least likely to prefer smaller brands over well-known brands. In addition to the traditional social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram, Snapchat is also very relevant with Aussies.
Living up to their nickname, Zoomers also expect speed in their online experience and they’re likely to pay for same-day delivery.
Wrapping it Up
Whether you’re an advertiser or a publisher, remember that convenience, community, and communication are key to tailoring your brand to fit the Gen Z bill. These markets are relationship-driven, so collaborative efforts and open communication with your partners—whether you’re open to spending with the top influencers and media houses, or providing exclusive coupons and offers to top cashback and coupon sites—will only boost your local flavor and help you reach this new generation of consumers with ample opportunity in global APAC markets.
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