Gen Z

Born 1997–2012, Gen Z are digital natives, socially minded and a rebellious force to be reckoned with.

Gen Z Now and Next

Gen Z are stepping into adulthood carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders. Without the tools or role models to help them enact the change they want to see, they find themselves paralysed by paradox

Behaviours

Gen Z in India

India’s Gen Z are redefining tradition. Blending cultural heritage with global influences, their evolving values of sustainability, inclusivity and individuality are reshaping the consumer landscape

Markets

Gen Z Dating Futures

As consumers experience dating app fatigue, in-person social spaces, sports, and college communities are emerging as popular alternatives, making way for screen-to-scene connection

Micro Trends

Erotic-tainment

A backdrop of sex-averse culture is only making audiences thirstier, leading to an explosion of entertainment that brings smut to the masses

Micro Trends

Safe Hate Spaces

Showing off their most embarrassing petty grievances, a new wave of content creators are building safe havens to normalise and connect over the act of complaining

Micro Trends

Piercing Pioneers

Brands are modernising the coming-of-age ritual of piercing for a new generation of teenagers who are keen to experiment with their identity.

Retail : Youth : DTC

Markets

Generation Z Stores

A youth boom is set to shake up bricks-and-mortar shopping, so retailers must adapt their strategies to meet the unique preferences of Generation Z.

Retail : Generation Z : Shopping

Micro Trends

Young Nativists

Generation Z are reconnecting with their indigenous roots, seeking communities and travel experiences that preserve ancestral knowledge.

Youth : Travel : Hospitality

Micro Trends

Skincare Networks

New online platforms are cutting through hyperbolic content with peer and expert advice designed to improve personal routines and product development.

Beauty : Skincare : Peer To Peer

Viewpoints

Inside Generation Z’s identity crisis

UAL students Nicole Angus and Nadine Gan, 21, and graduate Lucas Antunes, 23, discuss why cynicism, truth and self-education define today’s youth.

Youth : Generation Z : Media

Viewpoints

Diving into Lush’s phygital experiments

Charlotte Nisbet talks about the brand’s phygital retail experiments, from packaging-free stores and recyclable shop fit-outs to machine learning r...

Retail : Beauty : Technology

Viewpoints

Forget mental health, let’s discuss emotional fitness

Nick Bennett, CEO and co-founder of Fika, on the student mental health crisis being an issue of education and skills relating to emotional wellbeing.

Youth : Mental Health : Technology

Micro Trends

Grown-up Sodas

Consumers’ increasingly global palates are driving demand for complex flavoured soft drinks that have the double benefit of being alcohol-free.

Drinks : Soft Drinks : Non-alcoholic

Viewpoints

The human-less future of creative branding

Yali Saar, founder and CEO of Tailor Brands, discusses the positive impact that AI will have on the future of branding, copywriting and social mark...

Branding : Design : Artificial Intelligence

Viewpoints

Why the food revolution is not about progress

S Margot Finn, author of Discriminating Taste: How Class Anxiety Created the American Food Revolution, explains why our modern appetite for organic...

Food : Society : Sustainability

Markets

Georgia Travel Market

Award-winning hotels, a liberal youth population and sommelier-approved wine tourism are luring culturally curious travellers to the former Soviet ...

Travel : Tourism : Hospitality

Viewpoints

Obsess is upending the e-commerce interface

Neha Singh, founder and CEO of experiential e-commerce platform Obsess, on the power of discovery to shape the future of retail.

Retail : Youth : Technology

Micro Trends

Tourism Decelerated

With travellers exhausted by overcrowding, homogenised sights and a sea of smartphones, a counter-movement of slow tourism is gathering pace.

Travel : Tourism : Hospitality

Markets

Teen Tech Welfare

Brands are playing an increasingly supportive role to parents and children to help them approach their digital lives more mindfully.

Media : Technology : Kids

Markets

British Spirits Market

In a gin-saturated market, British spirits brands are innovating with displaced tipples, bold branding and more sustainable production practices.

Alcohol : Spirits : Drinks

Viewpoints

The future of hospitality is contemplative spaces

Design Hotels founder Claus Sendlinger on how physical spaces can alter urban consumers’ sense of being in times of haste and acceleration.

Hospitality : Hotels : Travel

Viewpoints

Psychotherapy is shaping the future of skincare

Charlotte Ferguson, founder of wellness brand Disciple, explains why psychodermatology is a growing field in treating stress-related skin issues.

Beauty : Skincare : Therapy

Big Ideas

Generation Z are driving an arts revolution

Jaded by the vapid qualities of social media, young people are finding solace in traditional arts and culture – and brands are responding.

Media : Youth : Entertainment

Markets

Accessible Retail Market

Retailers are investing in the accessibility of their physical and digital channels to support the needs of disabled and neurodiverse shoppers.

Retail : Inclusivity : Implicit Inclusivity

Macro Trends

Paradox Personas

Unlike Millennials, Generation Z are swapping self-promotion for self-awareness, using the digital world to enrich but not define their offline sel...

Youth : Digital : Identity