A current survey by Faire, an international online wholesale marketplace, and the market research institute YouGov, shows: Generation Z, known for its digital affinity, can be led less by influencers when shopping. Instead, personal recommendations from the family and friends dominate (56 percent or 43 percent). Influencer: Inside, only eleven percent play a subordinate role. “Social media provide thousands of new opinions, trends and buying recommendations every day. But even the digital-affine ze Z risen for product recommendations and associated buying decisions to familiar voices from the friends and family. This shows: For brands and dealers: It will be decisive, authentic, approaching and trustworthy,” says Sandra Meurer, International Marketing Manager and Retail Expert at fair.
Although almost half of the gene Z prefers large retail chains, small shops score with atmosphere – as long as the social pressure remains low. 38 percent feel quickly observed in small shops, but still want an appealing, unobtrusive shopping experience. While 55 percent buy price -conscious, quality (59 percent) has top priority. Sustainability and fair production conditions are central topics – almost 40 percent are ready to pay more. However, only 18 percent of the respondents value certain brands – for 53 percent the look primarily counts. At eight percent, trends and hypes have a low impact on buying decisions.
For brands and retailers: According to the study, this results in clear fields of action: authenticity, value -based communication and a trusting, flexible speech are crucial in order to bind the wealthy gene in the long term.
The data of this survey is based on online interviews with members of the YouGov Panel. For this survey, a total of 1039 people between the ages of 18 and 30 were interviewed for this survey from June 25th to July 4th 2025. The results are representative of age and gender for the German population between the ages of 18 and 30.