How will Gen Z brands fare this Cyber Monday?

With Cyber Weekend just around the corner, the Gen Z Insights team pooled our predictions for how Gen Z brands will fare in this unusual year. Will Gen Z spending habits take a hit, or will historic statistics proving Gen Z's love for good value reign true? Let's find out.

While it might be true that most of us have grown weary of hearing about the worldwide pandemic, the fact is, it’s still going on, and it’s going to have an effect on Gen Z and the brands they shop at this coming Cyber Monday. So how, exactly, will the COVID-19 pandemic affect Gen Z spending habits this holiday season?

We’ve had a look around to see if we can predict how things might be different this year.

Is Black Friday going to be a thing, or will it be all about Cyber Monday?

As social distancing protocols are still in place around the world, it goes without saying that both stores and their customers are going to focus more on online shopping this year. But, even before the pandemic hit, we were on track to see an increase in online shopping in 2020:

‘According to Adobe Analytics, 2019 saw a near-20% uplift in traffic for those searching for savings on their holiday gifts in some regions.

https://www.techradar.com/uk/news/black-friday-deals-2019

Business Insider tells us that Black Friday is notoriously “a better time to buy newer, big-ticket items”, whereas Cyber Monday is better for “for tech deals and smaller gifts”.

In fact, Inc.com is predicting this year’s Cyber Monday sales to surpass Black Friday sales for the first time, with Millennials and Gen Z leading the way. According to RetailTouchPoints.com, which compares shopping predictions of Millennials vs Gen Z: 65% of Gen Z plan to shop on Cyber Monday and 58% on Black Friday. 

But wait…

That doesn’t tell us the whole story. While we might think of Gen Z as the generation that grew up on the internet, that’s not entirely true.

Gen Z brands should still expect their customers to spend at least some time in the shopping malls, and according to CNBC, there are two main reasons for this: One, most don’t own a credit card. Second, they enjoy the actual physical activity and spending time with friends and family, while they form their own opinion on brands. Overall, it seems Gen Zers feel relatively safe to shop in stores right now.

The Gen Z Insights team's predictions for Cyber Monday

Gen Z brands are always going to do well around this time, especially the stalwarts like Nike, Adidas, and Apple. But who and what else do we expect to do well with Gen Z shoppers this year?

A recent UNiDAYS study on Gen Z spending habits before and during COVID-19 provides useful insights into how Gen Z will likely spend during the holiday season. For example, beauty is a surprising quarantine trend, while fitness also had a surge in popularity this year, especially since there was not much else to do.

Where will Gen Z shoppers spend the most?

Well, our money is on Amazon, seeing the greatest amount of shoppers. With the retailer expected to begin the sale on Black Friday and continue through the weekend, finishing at midnight Cyber Monday. But other brands like Apple, Adidas, and eBay will be expecting huge traffic to their sites, too.

Predicting the future is never easy, and 2020 has thrown us curveball after curveball, but one thing’s for sure, this year’s not done with us yet. Stay tuned for Gen Z Insights’ post-Cyber Weekend analysis coming this December.