Gen Z Purchasing Decisions Differ from Generations Before

Target Marketing's Taylor Knight (right) interviews Jamie Gutfreund, CMO of Wunderman, at DMA &THEN.

packagePRINTING's sister brand Target Marketing recently sent Taylor Knight to the DMA &THEN conference, an annual data and marketing event, in sunny Los Angeles.

Taylor took some time to speak with Jamie Gutfreund, the global CMO of Wunderman, about the future of marketing and how Generation Z will affect marketing and branding (link to video at the bottom).

"Millennial" has been a buzzword for quite some time, but we need to start considering the characteristics of the next generation, Z, when developing branding and packaging. Gutfreund explains that Gen Z'ers — 18 years old and younger — prefer transparency when making purchasing decisions. They have always had access to all the information they could possibly want or need when it comes to brands they are considering for purchase.

[Gen Z is] very different. … They don't like average. When you think about what people have access to today, they have access to amazing, so no one wants to settle for average. Gen Z in particular are very discerning consumers. They are going to do their research, they are going to find the best product, the best quality … In this era of connectivity, it's all about transparency.
—Gutfreund

The other point that Gutfreund brings up is that in marketing, companies are always trying to understand the consumer. With the amount of data that is now available to companies, there are great resources to understanding consumer behavior.

The trick is to take that information and turn it into a creative execution that somebody actually wants to see.
—Gutfreund

The problem, she explains, is that there is often so much data that it is hard to decipher what is valuable to the consumer.

Packaging Perspective: When it comes to packaging, that is a very valuable lesson. There are new tech elements, printing techniques and packaging options entering the industry on a regular basis. Whether it's RFID tags, thermochromic ink or adding a closure to a flexible package, package printers, converters and marketers need to consider what makes the most sense for the consumer before making a decision; will it benefit them in any way or just add unnecessary costs?

Each generation interacts with brands and makes purchasing decisions based on different factors. For package printers, as Generation Z starts to become a major influence in the consumer space, changes will need to take place to stay competitive on shelf.

For more information, watch the full video here.