Lindsay Kunkle, senior director of Digital & Insights at FTI Consulting, and Peter Rose, senior partner, consulting division at Kantar, shared the stage at Brewbound Live in Santa Monica, California, last month to discuss all things Generation Z.
Generation Z now makes up legal-drinking-age consumers between 21-24, and their formative years have been shaped by 9/11, an encompassing digital world, a pandemic and more. Kunkle and Rose said these events have crafted Gen Z’s unique perspectives, which in turn have shaped what they want as both consumers and employees.
“What we’re likely to see is Gen Z continuing to hold up the microscope on brands, or ask the question, ‘What have you done for me lately?’” Rose said. “We’re seeing a generation that – not just from a workplace standpoint, but from a consumption standpoint – is going to be trying to align with brands that’s values are quite similar to their own.”
Gen Z is drinking less alcohol and doing it less frequently than older generations. One-in-five (22%) Generation Z consumers surveyed in 2021 said they never consume alcohol – a +5% increase compared to millennials surveyed at the same age, according to Kunkle. One-quarter of Gen Z consumers are drinking alcohol weekly (17% less than millenials), and 6% consume daily (7% less than millennials).
As employees, they’re looking for value in work over monetary gain, leading to what has been referred to in the past two years as the “great resignation,” but what Kunkle said should be seen as more of a “great reshuffle.”
“They are looking for careers that make them happy, not necessarily the most possible money,” Kunkle said. “And they’re looking for a job, a career, that reflects their own personal identity.”
The majority of Generation Z consumers surveyed (81%) said they would select their future career path by what makes them happy rather than how much money they make – a greater percentage than any other generation (73% millennials, 68% Generation X and 63% baby boomers). Additionally, 76% of Generation Z said the company a person chooses to work for reflects who you are as a person, compared to 64% of millennials, 56% of Generation X and 47% of baby boomers.
“They’re looking to work for businesses that support leaders that talk about issues that connect with their own identity, their own beliefs, their own values,” Kunkle said. “They are looking for the right ‘why’ – why they do their jobs, why they engage in a certain way.”
Kunkle and Rose’s full presentation, as well as a brief Q&A with Brewbound reporter Zoe Licata, are available below.