We’ve all heard about how gen z as a whole differ with social media and purchasing habits. To learn more about what’s happening in social media and social commerce, gen.video just surveyed 1,280 consumers to collect some data on the differences. Here’s what we found:
Gen Z is Bucking the Trends
Gen Z is behaving differently than the other demographics we surveyed. For starters, they are very visual and video-centric and they are starting to move away from Facebook. Only 42% of gen Z users surveyed reported using Facebook at least once a week, compared to the 72% of users who were 25-34 years old. However, while Facebook is falling in popularity for younger users, 42% usage is still very significant and shows Facebook is still a powerhouse for social media.
Gen Z users were however the age group that reported the highest usage of TikTok (42%), Instagram (76%), YouTube (79%), and Snapchat (42%). This was surprising compared to users who were 25-34 years old, with reported usage rates of TikTok (31%), Instagram (55%), YouTube (67%), and Snapchat (37%).
When it comes to social commerce habits, 39% of gen Z users also reported purchasing after seeing a product on Instagram, but only 17% reported purchasing after seeing a product on Facebook. The data shows Facebook is falling in popularity for younger consumers, but it's still being utilized by nearly half of gen z social media users. The data also shows that the future of social is indeed visual and video-centric, and businesses need to focus on video to reach gen z consumers.
How Men and Women Differ in Social Media Habits as a Whole
According to our research, men and woman have different consumption and engagement patterns on social media. Here’s what we found.
Our survey showed that women are more than 3x as likely as men to be active on Pinterest, but men are more than 2x as likely as men to be active on Twitch and Reddit.
It also showed that women are 2x as likely as men to be active on TikTok and 37% more active than men on Instagram. While being more active on Instagram doesn't come as much of a surprise, women being 2x as likely to be active on TikTok does.
However, when it comes to purchasing, women are 41% more likely than men to purchase after seeing a product on Facebook and are 71% more likely than men to purchase after seeing a product on Instagram. One more surprising data point from our survey is that women reported being 244% more likely than men to purchase after seeing a product on TikTok.
This data shows that when specifically targeting men or women for social and influencer content, it's important to cater to which platforms they are more likely to be engaged on.
Future Data
Though our survey was limited in scope to 1,280 consumers ages 18-85, we look forward to exploring in more detail the social habits of targeted demographics in the coming months to better understand social media consumptions trends related to social commerce to drive insights.
Which statistic from this post was most surprising to you, and what would you like to see more data on in the future? Let us know in the comments down below!