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How to Market to the Aspirations of Gen-Z Shoppers

This PSFK Guide is a report on marketing to Gen Z that outlines the business tools and methods that can be deployed to engage and drive loyalty with an emerging consumer audience.

Executive Summary

The premise and promise of both business and technology, beyond just making a profit, is to positively impact the lives of the average consumer, and the stakeholder populations they serve. As real customer lives become increasingly supported by a variety of interconnected solutions, the smartest brands are deploying powerful tools to help their target audience embrace positive purpose in all aspects of life.

Report Overview

In this report on marketing to Gen Z, the PSFK iQ research team explores the innovative tools and emergent methods being deployed by businesses and brands to engage with an aspirational audience, drive loyalty, and improve lives. To help our members better understand the trajectories at play in this increasingly important and valuable space, PSFK has identified 5 key strategies powering the connection between core business propositions and aspirational consumer growth.

What You’ll Learn In This Report

  • How aspirational marketing strategy can improve everyday life by providing consumers opportunities to learn, improve, and grow across areas like financial health, personal wellness, and through increased access to career opportunities and education.
  • How companies and aspirational brands can leverage their scale and access to resources in order to help their customers reach their full potential.
  • Why an emerging suite of tools, platforms, and programmatic solutions from businesses both big and small can help modern consumers overcome the ever-present barriers behind positive behavioral change,
  • How brands are increasing their Gen Z customers’ motivation and accountability with built-in incentives and personalized positive reinforcement, as well as offering community support, skill-sharing, and collective feedback.
  • Why data-fueled, future-focused frameworks are supporting baseline goal-setting in both consumers’ personal and financial health.
  • Why curated coaching solutions and community skill-sharing approaches are being paired with personalized education to empower incremental long-term change that takes advantage of the holistic understandings arising around consumer wellness, fitness, and financial planning.

What’s In This Report?

To help our community better understand the trajectories at play in this increasingly important and valuable space, PSFK has identified 5 key strategies powering the connection between core business propositions and aspirational consumer growth. In this report, the PSFK iQ team explores the innovative tools and emergent methods being deployed by businesses and brands to engage with an aspirational audience, drive loyalty, and improve lives.

This report on marketing to Generation Z includes:

    • 5 strategies in consumer education, support and empowerment
    • 18 best-in-class examples of supportive business and product design practices including Athleta, August, Fabeletics, Nike, Walgreens and more
    • Changing consumer insights around expectations driven by data-tracking and feedback

Who Prepared This Report?

This report on marketing to Gen Z was developed by the same PSFK research department that since 2004 has provided trends-led innovation consulting advice to Apple, BMW, Facebook/Meta, Google, Microsoft, Samsung and Volkswagen.

Key Topics

Community-Backed Support

With the shift to digital-first lifestyles, community has taken on an increasingly important role both in terms of socializing and connection. New brand-led platforms are making community a core aspect of their service offerings, bringing customers together to share experience, receive expert advice and be supported in their everyday lives.

Wellness Coaching

To further support consumers’ health-based choices, brands and retailers are rolling out virtual services designed to support consumers’ personal goals, realize the greatest value of their purchases or memberships, and access health-mended practices and content. These virtual member programs, both free and subscription-based, are incentivizing consumer participation in health-centered activities and shopping habits through on-demand coaching and guidance, while driving opportunities for greater engagement between consumers and retailers.

Micro Ownership

Despite the rise of new investing platforms, investing can still feel risky and complicated for many consumers. The recent addition of fractional shares has opened the door for many new consumers given the lower financial commitment required and the ability to invest in a broader range of companies with a proven track record of success. This idea has been further expanded upon by layering a loyalty offering on top, which rewards shoppers with fractional shares...

Financial Growth Planning

Long-term financial planning - paying off debt, building credit, saving for a big purchase, etc. - can be a daunting prospect for many consumers. The process requires knowledge, patience and the right plan of action. In an effort to simplify that process, new financial services are pairing tracking tools with education with personalized guidance to assist customers as they look to achieve their individual goals.

Skill Development

An increasingly digital-first economy has created a host of new opportunities for growth and success within core areas like education and business. However, accessibility and lack of fundamental understanding of what's available are still an obstacle for many consumers. As they seek out new sources of support, brands have a unique opportunity to step in and provide the tools and expertise to support these endeavors. By providing their customers with the resources to achieve their...

Featured Examples

DriveWealth Partners With Bits of Stock To Power the Ownership Economy

A new cardless stock-rewards program from fractional investing and embedded finance fintech company DriveWealth, together with stock rewards app company Bits of Stock, aims to shape the future of stock ownership, aspirational wealth generation, and brand loyalty for younger generations.

Nike Shifts Focus To Mental Health

A new offering from the iconic global sportswear brand aims to leverage the healing power of movement to uplift Nike members by focusing on how they feel, not what they do.

Alms App Helps Users Better Themselves With Creator-led Challenges

The social network eschews chasing clout online, and focuses instead on “feeling good through doing good” by making a positive impact and empowering its users’ well-being with guided activities.

Marketing To Gen-Z’s Aspirations

To help our members better understand the trajectories at play in this increasingly important and valuable space, PSFK has identified 5 key strategies powering the connection between core business propositions and aspirational consumer growth. In this report, the PSFK iQ team explores the innovative tools and emergent methods being deployed by businesses and brands to engage with an aspirational audience, drive loyalty, and improve lives.

This PDF download includes:

  • 5 strategies in consumer education, support and empowerment
  • 18 best-in-class examples of supportive business and product design practices including Athleta, August, Fabeletics, Nike, Walgreens and more
  • Changing consumer insights around expectations driven by data-tracking and feedback

Published on: Jan 15, 2022

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