5 Fun Facts Startup Founders Must Know About Gen Z's Spending Habits

When it comes to your all-time favorite brands, regardless of the year they were founded, you may have noticed something that each of them have in common—they’re all completely congruent with their target customers. 

Take a brand that you’re probably very familiar with, MTV, for example. I often use MTV as an example of a brand that is totally entwined with its target audience (partly due to the fact that I was obsessively enamored with the brand as a teen). 

From its inception to today, every public-facing aspect of MTV has always aligned perfectly with their target audience. Whether it’s their programming, their on-air personalities, even the audience members shown on camera during their live broadcasts—every iteration of MTV as a brand is a direct reflection of their audience.

As a startup founder, I cannot emphasize enough how important it is from a branding perspective—that like MTV, your startup is also a direct reflection of the ideal audience it seeks to serve. And if Gen Z consumers consist of that audience, here are five things you definitely should know about the demographic.

They expect for your business to be present on IG

Whoever said that life as a startup founder would be easy, certainly never spent a day in your shoes. As a startup founder, you know firsthand about the responsibilities that fall solely on your shoulders on a day-to-day basis. So who could blame you for not being aware of every obscure interest of your ideal customers? Certainly not me.

Nevertheless, if any of your company’s goals are to attract Gen Z consumers, it is imperative that your startup is present on one particular social media platform, Instagram. 

That’s because according to a 2024 survey conducted by GoDaddy, 61% of Gen Z consumers expect for small businesses to be present on Instagram.

They compare prices prior to making a purchase

Despite having a reputation for being totally reckless with their wallets, Gen Zers are far more frugal than given credit for. In fact, studies that show Gen Z consumers are nearly just as prudent as previous generations as it pertains to shopping.  

Now this may surprise you, but a study conducted by US youth cultural agency Archrival, and published by Vogue, revealed that a whopping 48% of Gen Zers compare the prices of a retail product to those on Amazon prior to making a purchase.

With nearly half of the demographic comparing and contrasting the prices of your products prior to purchasing them, you might want to take that into account when considering the price points of your startup’s products. 

Cash isn’t considered King 

Digital wallets aren’t just the rave, they’re the wave. And if your startup doesn’t provide digital wallet payment options—it could get totally wiped out of business. That’s because according to a GoDaddy Consumer Pulse survey, over 54% of Gen Zers skip completing a purchase due to the business not providing digital wallet payment options.

Avoidance appears to be the in thing 

Think back to your fondest times as a teen. If your teenage years were anything like mine, many of the highlights from those years consisted of hanging out with friends while people watching at the mall on a Saturday afternoon. 

Weren't those just the days?

Well, oddly, many Gen Z consumers do not share those same sentiments. It’s actually quite the contrary. Studies show that 54% of consumers now prefer shopping methods which allow them the opportunity to avoid other people. 

Protecting the planet is a priority

During times of economic uncertainty, like the market is currently experiencing, consumers tend to expend more energy searching for ways to tighten their belts in order to ensure they’ll be able to make ends meet. 

Yet even in times of economic uncertainty, the old adage, wherever the heart goes, the wallet will follow, will always ring true. And Gen Z consumers are no exception to the rule. 

Because of their love and concern for the planet, 33% of Gen Z consumers are willing to pay 5-10% more for sustainable products. That’s according to a 2025 consumer survey conducted by The Harris Poll.  

Key takeaways

Although Gen Zers aren’t a monolith, the above-mentioned studies could help provide the nuance needed to help your startup adjust its marketing approach towards Gen Zers from generations that preceded them. 

Understanding and embracing Gen Zers’ unique spending habits and applying these findings in your marketing strategies should help give your startup an edge over its competitors. 

If you’d like a marketing firm that specializes in helping startups like yours stand out in its industry by captivating Gen Z consumers with compelling content, schedule a complimentary client consultation with us today and let’s take your startup to the top!