GoDaddy’s survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers will make you rethink how you should advertise to Gen Z and Millennials.
GoDaddy conducted the survey in September 2024 to explore how buying habits are shifting among different generations.
The data showed that while Gen Z and Millennial customers are starting to behave differently than traditional shoppers, they are not trending in the same way.
GoDaddy Key Survey Findings:
- Nearly 4 in 10 Gen Z consumers (41%) trust a product or service recommendation from an influencer over an ad directly from a business, while nearly 5 in 10 Millennials (46%) still trust business ads more.
- Regarding the likelihood of buying from a social media post, both Gen Z and Millennials ranked posts from friends lower than other sources.
Gen Z Shopping Preferences
Gen Z is more likely to trust and act on influencer recommendations, while friends’ posts rank last in influence:
- Influencer post (57%)
- Business post they follow (54%)
- Feed ad (49%)
- Friend’s post (40%)
Millennial Shopping Preferences
Millennials tend to trust businesses they follow over influencer recommendations:
- Business post they follow (57%)
- Feed ad (51%)
- Friend’s post (48%)
- Influencer post (44%)
Social Media as a Shopping Discovery Tool
Despite differences in influence, both generations value social media for discovering new products:
- Most Gen Z (55%) and Millennial (47%) consumers use social media regularly to find new products.
- Over half of Gen Z (53%) and Millennial (57%) users take action on social media ads weekly.
- Around 3 in 10 Gen Z (28%) and Millennial (32%) consumers find social media ads helpful for discovering new products or businesses.
Next Step
As Alycia Leno, Director of Marketing at GoDaddy said:
“Knowing that Gen Z consumers trust social media ads more than recommendations from friends is a game-changer for brands targeting this audience. Understanding each generation’s shopping behaviors, especially on social media, empowers businesses to refine strategies and maximize social media marketing”.
The next step is simple: direct your marketing budget towards influencers this year if you want to attract younger consumers.
