What You Need to Know About Gen Z Shoppers on Black Friday / Cyber Monday

What does it take to attract Gen Z shoppers? Be on TikTok, Instagram, or one of the other social media channels that are popular with this demographic?

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All of these are the right marketing strategies, but one that many small business owners may miss is being environmentally conscious.

Gen Z is expected to be the biggest Black Friday and Cyber Monday spenders this weekend, purchasing over $29.8 billion worth of sales, according to estimates by Student Beans – an online platform providing success for businesses with Generation Z.

Online retailers and brands that fail to showcase their ‘green’ credentials may be losing out on this lucrative target market.

Data shows that Gen Z is expected to spend an average of $444.38 over this busy shopping weekend, compared to $423.42 for Gen X and $360.53 for Boomers. Top categories for sales this weekend include fashion, beauty, and health.

“Our research shows that consumer demand for Black Friday remains highly popular, particularly amongst Gen Z shoppers. For brands to win over young customers during peak sale seasons, they must consider what other incentives must be available alongside sale discounts.”

Siobhan McGarvey, Chief Marketing Officer at Student Beans

Gen Z Feel Stressed About Black Friday

Despite wanting to spend the most on Black Friday, more than half (53%) of Gen Z customers feel stressed by traditional marketing tactics, compared to 40% of Gen X and 28% of Boomers.

When it comes to buying preferences during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, eight in ten Gen Z Americans expect to buy from companies that use ‘green’ marketing.

In addition, findings show that younger consumers are a third more likely to purchase from brands that advertise more sustainable incentives for purchases, such as charitable donations or offsetting CO2 impact.

These findings from Student Beans highlight that messaging can be a very important factor in the buying decision during this busy shopping weekend, but also any other day.

The platform works with many major brands to adjust their messaging to better market to Gen Z shoppers. But even small business retailers and marketplace sellers can make adjustments to their business that will help them grow sales from one of the biggest buying groups.