Episode 29
Gen Z Wake Up Call: What Every Retailer Needs To Know
Hi, I’m Clare Bailey, founder of Retail Champion.
I'll be honest — I've had to look this up myself. As the proud mum of two Gen Z kids (aged 20 and 22), I thought I understood this generation. But the more I dug in, the more I realised just how profoundly different their relationship with brands, spending, and loyalty really is — and what that means for every retailer and business owner selling to them right now.
In this episode, I break down who Gen Z really are, why their ethical spending habits are reshaping the retail landscape, and — most importantly — what brands must do right now to stay relevant. This isn't a trend. This is the new normal.
What We Cover
- Who Gen Z actually are — born 1997–2012, digital natives, pragmatic and socially conscious
- Why loyalty with this generation has nothing to do with discounts
- The role of authenticity, purpose, and ethics in their buying decisions
- Why greenwashing will destroy your brand with Gen Z — fast
- The practical implications for your brand strategy, supply chain, and communications
- Why employer brand matters just as much as consumer brand
- How to build long-term advocacy with this generation without alienating your existing customers
Key Takeaways
- Gen Z aren't just another customer segment
- Ethical alignment alone isn't enough
- They expect seamless, tech-enabled experiences that are also humanised
- Supply chain transparency is no longer optional
- Brands that ignore this risk irrelevance, not just in the future, but now
Resources & Links
- The Retail Champion: www.theretailchampion.co.uk
- Other episodes: retailreckoningpodcast.co.uk
- Subscribe to Retail Reckoning wherever you get your podcasts
Connect & Share
If this episode made you think differently about your Gen Z strategy, I'd love to know. Leave a review, share with a fellow retailer, or come and find me on social media. Let's keep the conversation going.
Transcript
Well, I'm the proud owner of two Gen Z kids. They're 20 and
Speaker:22 this year, and I can tell you firsthand their attitudes to spending,
Speaker:earning, and life are profoundly different from when I
Speaker:grew up. So I'm going to look at Gen Z's ethical
Speaker:spending and how that in fact
Speaker:affects brand values and bottom line impact.
Speaker:Now I'm going to hold my hands up. I'm Gen X. I
Speaker:probably identify more as a millennial, but I've even had to look up the
Speaker:characteristics, so that should give a few things away. But here's what's
Speaker:fascinating. My kids— kids, they're, well, they're
Speaker:young adults— like their peers, they're not really
Speaker:the same as it was back in the day.
Speaker:They aren't bothered particularly about profit or
Speaker:status. They seem to care so much more about things
Speaker:like purpose, authenticity, and impact.
Speaker:And they want the brands they buy from or work
Speaker:for and anyone that they generally support to reflect
Speaker:the values they believe in. And you see, that's a problem. It's
Speaker:a wake-up call for retailers, consumer-facing brands,
Speaker:supply chain leaders, and anyone else selling stuff
Speaker:today, because now the decision makers are
Speaker:typically millennials or Gen X, even boomers.
Speaker:Gen Z feel a bit like an alien to them, and the worldviews,
Speaker:priorities, and expectations are entirely different. But if
Speaker:brands don't understand this generation, they risk
Speaker:irrelevance because they are the current and the next generation
Speaker:of shoppers, employees, influencers.
Speaker:To break it down, who on earth are Gen Z?
Speaker:If like me, you have to look it up, then it's important to get this
Speaker:right. They were roughly born around '97 to
Speaker:2012. They are the digital natives, 'cause in '97,
Speaker:that's the era of the very first e-commerce transaction. They've
Speaker:never known life without an internet and probably not life without a smartphone.
Speaker:But they're the digital natives, but they're also pragmatic.
Speaker:Ethical, socially conscious, and diverse. They
Speaker:are very different in their logic. They prioritise their mental health,
Speaker:their work-life balance, and so on, and authenticity and
Speaker:purpose in their careers. Many seem to
Speaker:prefer the entrepreneurial pathways, flexible working,
Speaker:and practical education over traditional structures. Now,
Speaker:I know that's true because despite the fact that both my kids could have been
Speaker:Oxbridge graduates, I'm not gonna lie, they're both smart. They
Speaker:went to do different kinds of degrees. And in fact, my son
Speaker:only decided to do his degree 3 weeks prior
Speaker:to starting because he was sure he was going to
Speaker:follow an entrepreneurial path. They're very different to the
Speaker:structure and more regimented routines that
Speaker:those of us that grew up in the '70s and '80s experienced.
Speaker:And I think also if you look at what's going on in the world today,
Speaker:they're navigating such a complex world. There's
Speaker:financial instability, global crises,
Speaker:climate change, crazy politicians, and the
Speaker:digital landscape is moving at such pace that it's really
Speaker:hard to keep up with. And all of this also influences
Speaker:how they shop and what they value in brands and whether
Speaker:they're going to ever feel loyalty towards a brand or not at all.
Speaker:And the real killer blow is they are going to
Speaker:walk away from brands that don't feel authentic, or
Speaker:they feel those brands are out of step with their values.
Speaker:Because loyalty isn't about discounts with this generation.
Speaker:It's earned through things like relevancy,
Speaker:ethics, social value, and consistent
Speaker:social proof that they take action to live up to those values.
Speaker:And there's a reason why retailers need to think about this right
Speaker:now, because it means rethinking everything. It's
Speaker:the brand strategy, the communications, the sourcing, the product design,
Speaker:packaging, how the supply chain operates, local or
Speaker:far away, and also the customer experience. Because
Speaker:this isn't just marketing nuances, this is whole business
Speaker:transformation. And if brands fail to evolve, they risk
Speaker:becoming the dinosaurs of retail, completely out of touch with the
Speaker:very customers who are actually defining their future as their
Speaker:employees and their customers.
Speaker:I guess this episode is your sit up and listen wake-up call.
Speaker:Gen Z isn't coming. They're already here.
Speaker:And they're shaping markets on their terms. Which leads
Speaker:us to, I guess, ethical spending and brand
Speaker:values. And that's the big question. Does Gen Z's
Speaker:ethical spending actually translate into loyalty and sales?
Speaker:We don't know that yet. It's very nuanced. I
Speaker:do believe they will pay for brands that demonstrate genuine impact with
Speaker:regards to things like sustainability, social responsibility, and
Speaker:diversity, but only if it's authentic and it's not
Speaker:greenwashing. They are very much not impressed by
Speaker:token gestures. At the same time, ethical alignment
Speaker:isn't enough on its own. If a product isn't
Speaker:relevant, desirable, or accessible, they walk away.
Speaker:They're quite pragmatic. They may still buy luxury,
Speaker:aspirational, and high-quality products, but only
Speaker:perhaps if they feel the brand is doing good whilst
Speaker:equally doing well, and they're also
Speaker:very comfortable with pre-loved, secondhand,
Speaker:and unique artisan. They don't want to look the same as
Speaker:everybody else. They want to define their personality
Speaker:by what they own, what they wear, how they behave,
Speaker:and everything else. It's a very individualistic, and
Speaker:yet at the same time, collective culture. And it's
Speaker:a balance because, yes, of course, there's a brand
Speaker:purpose, but there also has to be commercial relevance.
Speaker:So done well, businesses can align to drive the
Speaker:loyalty, advocacy, and the long-term
Speaker:growth with this customer group. But if it's done badly,
Speaker:they're going to alienate customers and damage bottom line,
Speaker:potentially even before those customers have become customers
Speaker:yet. And this has got some fairly significant
Speaker:practical implications for retailers and brands, and we have
Speaker:to ask ourselves, how do they respond? Number
Speaker:one, above everything else, is truly authentic messaging. Whether it be
Speaker:a campaign, a social post, or an email, it's got
Speaker:to reflect real action and impact,
Speaker:because empty promises are going to get called out, and it could
Speaker:be the death of a brand, quite honestly. Then we've also got to take into
Speaker:account product relevance. We've always had to take that into account,
Speaker:but sometimes perhaps us older generation
Speaker:have accepted the product is the product and it is what it
Speaker:is. But now the ethical and sustainable
Speaker:credentials need to be visible, accessible, and desirable. It's
Speaker:not a token item, it's not a fair trade
Speaker:corner, it's everything. The other thing that really
Speaker:matters for Gen Z particularly, because remember they're born
Speaker:since '97 when e-commerce first really went live and the
Speaker:internet first went on general release in 1994. 3 years
Speaker:before these kids were born. So they fully
Speaker:expect seamless tech-enabled experiences,
Speaker:yet humanized, because from talking to my kids, they don't trust
Speaker:AI in terms of things like a quality experience. They
Speaker:also care about personal, but they want in-store, online,
Speaker:and blended experiences which are humanized,
Speaker:yet efficient and automated. Go figure that one
Speaker:out. Then there's supply chain transparency. I've talked about this before as well.
Speaker:People do, and I, I would say my, myself included actually, so you can go
Speaker:back a few more generations, but more so they
Speaker:seem to care about where products came from and how
Speaker:they're made. Is it a B Corp? Is
Speaker:it recyclable? Is it renewable? And they
Speaker:seem to reward brands that align their actions with
Speaker:their messaging. So it's not just the retailer or the brand, it's the
Speaker:whole supply chain that goes under the microscope.
Speaker:So modern leadership who are not of this generation now
Speaker:need to educate themselves. They need to hire in
Speaker:new perspectives, rethink the KPIs that they
Speaker:manage the businesses by. Because if you are a Gen X,
Speaker:a Millennial, or a Boomer running a business,
Speaker:Gen Z isn't just another segment. They're now going to be
Speaker:shaping your future consumer norms and your brand
Speaker:values and brand identity. And if you don't understand
Speaker:them, your brand could die. So we need
Speaker:to balance these new brand values with the bottom
Speaker:line. Aligning with Gen Z values doesn't immediately
Speaker:boost sales. Some of these initiatives are gonna cost
Speaker:more, or they might alienate other demographics, but if they're
Speaker:done strategically, then at least
Speaker:value-led action that's grounded in true
Speaker:ethics and purpose can build long-term
Speaker:loyalty, advocacy, and brand strength.
Speaker:So it isn't a quick fix. The investment should
Speaker:pay off, but it might not be instant. But it should
Speaker:always have a sustainable impact, and ultimately sustainability will
Speaker:pay off in the end. But brands that ignore this are risking
Speaker:being irrelevant very quickly, or even
Speaker:ridiculed in a new world that prizes transparency
Speaker:and authenticity. When you're dealing
Speaker:with a community of people who are your up-and-coming customers
Speaker:and employees, you also have to think about your employer brand as well as
Speaker:your consumer brand. And how relevant that
Speaker:is to being able to hire the best talent who can
Speaker:come into your business and actually help you implement some of this. So
Speaker:really my takeaway is Gen Z isn't a
Speaker:trend. They are the current and next generation of our
Speaker:customers, employees, and brand advocates. And if as brands
Speaker:and businesses, we fail to align with what they care
Speaker:about so much, the authenticity, ethics, and purpose. And
Speaker:across everything, product, communication, experience, supply
Speaker:chain, as companies, we risk losing relevance. And those of
Speaker:us who embrace it strategically will actually create
Speaker:the future of loyal, engaged, and vocal customers.
Speaker:And that means the business itself will have a
Speaker:sustainable and profitable future. I think there's
Speaker:really one thing to remember. We've got to start the
Speaker:transformation now. Or we're going to watch our customers either walk
Speaker:away or die off. Because Gen Z's
Speaker:here. They're not just changing what we buy,
Speaker:they're redefining what it means to be a brand. So let's hope that we
Speaker:can get on the right bandwagon and engage with them now
Speaker:before it's too late. So you've been listening
Speaker:to Retail Reckoning, and I'm Clare Bailey, the Retail Champion. See you
Speaker:next
Speaker:time. Retail Reckoning, Retail Reckoning. No space for dusty
Speaker:shelves, 'cause Retail Reckoning owns the floor.
