Chart of the Week

Millennials have hogged the limelight in recent years, but now, Generation Z are adding more noise to the cultural conversation between generations. A recent viral post mocking millennials for their love of Harry Potter and “adulting” is an apt symbol for the changing of the guard. Gen Z are asserting their differences more confidently than ever, and we can see this in the way they're choosing to shop.

WHY DOES IT MATTER?

Two reasons. First: there’s never been a more important time to understand the differences between Gen Z and millennials, as the former displace the latter in shaping wider culture. Second: understanding their different spending preferences (and those of older generations), could be a deciding factor for businesses and retailers alike trying to reach consumers during a pandemic. 

Amid a global recession and with many threatened by unemployment, the problem governments and businesses now face is getting consumers spending again. The U.S. strategy was to introduce stimulus checks, which offered cash payments to Americans who qualified.

But after seeing the Personal Saving Rate increase, some analysts suspect many opted to save these checks. Our U.S. data set shows that around a quarter of Americans expect their personal finances to worsen over the next six months, which sheds light on why this stimulus package perhaps hasn’t proved as successful as first hoped. 

Some reports suggest the UK is looking to follow a similar path, with its Chancellor considering plans to give Brits vouchers to spend on businesses worst-hit by the crisis; and it’s possible that vouchers (rather than cash payments) end up being more effective.

While some feel it isn’t their duty to help businesses recover and dislike the responsibility the UK campaign (“Eat Out to Help Out”) arguably places on people, others accept that economic recovery rests on consumers engaging with the retail and hospitality sectors. The scheme, promising shoppers 50% off when they eat out between Monday and Wednesday, has already boosted the profits the profits of many struggling restaurants.