Embracing Gen Z: How to Align Your Brand With Their Shopping Priorities

Photo: ChatGPT (2026)

People don’t necessarily have to verbalize what is important to them—for them to tell you what is important to them. It’s like my dad would so often tell me growing up, If you ever want to know what is important to someone, just pay attention to two things: What they spend their time doing, and what they spend their money on! 

If ever you should find yourself pondering what to gift a colleague, friend, or significant other—simply observe the things that they spend their free time doing. And especially what they spend their expendable income on.

Also, according to that sage advice, by observing what your target customers are currently spending both their time and money on, you could fashion your brand to align with their interests in order to connect with them more profoundly. 

What Gen Z spends their time doing 

Yep, you probably guessed the answer to this one quite easily; it’s social media. Studies show that the average Gen Zer spends upwards of 3 hours a day on social media. Although that may not necessarily seem like a lot of time, keep in mind that is nearly half of their daily screen time (approx. 6h 27m). 

Which also includes gaming, texting, shopping, and various other online activities. 

What Gen Z spends their money on 

Before diving into what Gen Z is spending more of their money on, let’s first address what they’re spending less of their money on—which is dining out. Contrary to a popular belief that Gen Zers often tend to be so busy—they spend more time dining out than dining in, studies show that the average restaurant purchase for Gen Zers has dropped by 21%. 

Nevertheless, recent studies also show that on average, Gen Z is spending nearly 20% more on non essentials like clothes, beauty and home furnishings than a year ago. 

This, along with their absolute obsession with social media, highlights the prioritization and importance of Gen Z to present an appealing image to their peers. So much so, that they are willing to spend less money on dining—in order to spend more money on improving the way they are perceived aesthetically both online as well as in person.

Aligning your brand with Gen Z audiences

Now that we have a clear understanding of what the majority of Gen Z consumers prioritize based upon what they spend their time and money on, we've also gained valuable insight concerning what's most important to them. Which is their image and how they’ll be perceived by their peer groups.

All that's left to do now is align those interests with your brand. You could do that by ensuring that at every touchpoint, your brand conveys a sense of relatedness amongst its target audience.

That means utilizing every marketing communication avenue (ads, social media, website copy, etc.) to speak with your audience in their language; while also associating your brand with their contemporary lifestyle.

It's important to keep in mind that all humans, not just Gen Z, naturally develop an affinity for those who share their attitudes, behaviors, lingo, and image.

Commit your brand's focus to remaining cognizant of just how much Gen Z prioritizes their image. Also, make it an objective for your brand to become and remain relevant to both their needs and interests—in a way that they would be eager to introduce your brand to others in their social group.

As opposed to being the brand that is so out of touch culturally—they’d be embarrassed to tell their peers they support it. 

In closing 

If you would like us to help your brand connect with Gen Z consumers via contemporary culture-focused marketing solutions, do not hesitate to book a complimentary client consultation with us today!