TikTok to Till: The Evolution of Gen Z Social Commerce

Recently, we were lucky enough to have Benno Briggs join as an intern. A move that not only helped (temporarily) lower the average age of the team, but gave us a boost in our Gen Z cohort, and a refreshing perspective on how this generation of consumers actually shop. 

As an industry, we spend a lot of time (some would say too much) overanalysing, overgeneralising, second-guessing how Gen Z think, how they behave, what makes them ‘different’. But sometimes, in amongst all the noise, it’s easy to forget the most obvious solution: just ask them!

So that’s exactly what we did. We wanted to understand Gen Z social commerce; in particular, how influence turns into action, how a scroll turns into a sale, and what that journey looks like for a Gen Z shopper.

Rather than speculating, we asked Benno to share his experience firsthand. What follows is an unfiltered, honest account of how he shops – unfiltered and straight from the source.  

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A Gen Z Perspective On Shopping

As a Gen Z consumer, I’ve grown up in a world where social media and shopping now go hand in hand. Long gone are the days when I’d watch TV adverts as a child with an Argos catalogue circling every toy or gadget I would see whilst waiting for Scooby-Doo to come back on. 

Today, we’re not just influenced by ads; we’re now influenced by influencers. Whether it’s Prime, Feastables, or Candy Kittens, it seems it is no longer about what a product is, but who’s behind it.

Take Prime, for example. When KSI and Logan Paul launched it, I tried it almost as soon as it landed in UK stores, my local ASDA to be precise. I didn’t buy it because I needed a new sports drink, far from it, but because I’ve followed both creators for years and felt like I’d been part of their journey.  

They’d grown from teenage YouTubers to worldwide celebrities in not only YouTube, but boxing, music and now WWE! Because of that, there was a level of trust already there. And with the massive hype on Instagram and online in general, the FOMO definitely kicked in as it felt everyone was talking about it. You almost felt left out if you hadn’t tried it at least once, whether that be from purchasing it yourself or nicking a sip off a mate.

That is the power of influencers today: they’re more than just faces. They’re brands in themselves. The trust and familiarity we have with them make their products feel more personal. It’s not just a drink, a chocolate bar, or sweets; it’s KSI’s drink, MrBeast’s chocolate, Jamie Laing’s sweets. 

There may be large corps backing these products, but this isn’t always known by the majority of their consumers – most of us don’t know or even care. It is the influencer who is the selling factor.

When The Influencer Isn’t Enough

However, when writing this blog, I realised it works both ways. Whilst I loved MrBeast’s videos growing up, I have never gone out of my way to try Feastables. That’s partly because I don’t actively go out and buy chocolate (weird, I know). So even though I like the person behind the brand, the product itself doesn’t appeal to me. 

On the flip side, I know about Candy Kittens purely because of Jamie Laing, but I’ve never followed him on social media or been a fan of his content, so I’ve never bought the product. This shows how much the person behind the product drives Gen Z purchasing decisions – at least for me. If I don’t connect with the influencer, I’m not likely to connect with what they’re selling.

I’ve deleted apps like TikTok and YouTube to avoid the dreaded doom scroll, but Instagram plays a big role in all of this for me personally, so I still see a lot of marketing through Instagram. 

And since doing a placement year in marketing, I have become more aware of how and what I am being marketed. If I keep seeing something enough times and then come across the product in-store, that’s when I’m more likely to impulse buy (much to the pain of my ever-growing overdraft!). 

For me, the visual repetition builds familiarity, and once something feels familiar, it usually becomes tempting, especially if I feel the product is necessary and not daylight robbery when it comes to price.

Product Quality Still Matters

Product quality also matters to me, as my grandma has always told me, “Buy cheap, buy twice”.

So when it comes to influencer-backed brands, I feel product quality matters even more to me, probably because they seem more expensive than ‘regular’ versions. I’m not saying they actually are, and please don’t quote me on that (too late, Benno!) – but they definitely carry that perception. 

Either way, there’s this sense that fans will buy them just to support the influencer, and this makes me more conscious of what I’m spending my student loan on. The name might sell it initially, but if it’s not worth the money, I probably won’t repurchase.

Case in point – I bought one bottle of each Prime flavour available to me once and have never bought them since – they were too sweet and full of artificial rubbish!

Influence, Idols, and Big Purchases

Last year, I bought a Whoop fitness band. I had been seeing adverts for the watches for a while and thought they were cool, but not really for me, and I was not tempted to buy one. 

Then one day, I saw my football idol, Cristiano Ronaldo, wearing one on Instagram. And that was it. I was sold! 

Since my purchase, I have been extremely happy with the Whoop, and it has proven to be a quality product that has helped me develop and track my fitness, making it worth every penny. 

But it goes to show that when someone you idolise endorses something, it feels more legit. That kind of trust and influence is powerful, especially to brand owners who inevitably reap the financial rewards.

Benno’s Final Thoughts

In my opinion, as a Gen Z consumer, traditional above-the-line doesn’t cut it any more. During ad breaks, most of us are just scrolling through our phones anyway, often stumbling on something a creator’s promoting.

That seems to be where decisions are initially born now in our generation: on the feed, during the scroll, between memes and DMs with friends.

For Gen Z, influence doesn’t start on a shelf, but it can end there.

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What This Means For Brands

What Benno’s shared reminds us that the shopper journey is a blend of digital and physical – the scroll sparks the interest, but smart retail media can bring that buzz into the store. This makes the shelf the natural next step.

For brands, this means creating a seamless experience where digital visibility and in-store presence talk to each other. The familiarity built through online ads or influencer moments should be reinforced by retail media that targets shoppers right when they’re near or in-store, nudging them from awareness to action. 

And whilst we may not all have an influencer on speed dial (…or the budget to do so…), we can learn from how they build trust, stay visible, and make products feel personal. Benno’s world might start on screen (RIP Argos magazine), but the rules he plays by are just as relevant in-store. 

Influencers set the tone for trust and connection online; retailers and brands can borrow from those tactics. Stay visible, stay relevant, and stay personal.

The rules of influence apply just as much in the aisle as on the feeds.

Understanding Gen Z Purchase Behaviour: Bringing The Scroll Into The Store

So what could a retailer take away from Benno?

Gen Z might get hooked online, but the final decision often lands in-store. The smart move? Use retail media to close that gap and bring the scroll into the aisle to turn recognition into action, to purchase.

And how could we bring Benno’s world in-store?

• Mirror the feed 

• • • Use shelf media and signage that look and feel like what’s being seen online. Think creator-style visuals, casual copy, even ‘meme energy’ (where it fits!)

• IRL. FR.

• • • (c’mon, get with the Gen Z acronyms SMH)…If they’ve seen it online, show it again in-store. Digital screens, geo-targeted messaging, smart placement to nudge from ‘seen it’ to ‘bought it’.

• Build trust, not just buzz

• • • Influence isn’t all hype. It’s familiarity. Use trusted faces, causes, or tone to make products feel personal, not pushy. (If your budgets can stretch!)

• Drive trial, don’t just chase clicks

• • • Gen Z will try one, but won’t come back if it flops. (To be honest, this insight isn’t generation-specific, so take this as a general reminder and perhaps not demographic-specific!) Bundles, sampling or QR callouts to encourage trial without risk

• Make the moment shareable 

• • • Yes, this is an overthinking Millennial here, which I said we do too often, but it just makes sense! A great display can do more than sell; it can land back on feeds. Think retail theatre, limited drops – just things that are worth snapping 

So sometimes the best brief and the hardest-hitting KPIs don’t always come as a result of a trend report into Gen Z purchasing habits. It comes from asking someone with an overdraft and a feed full of ads. 

And it’s not about shopper vs consumer vs influencer. It’s just…life. And it’s happening in real-time. Online, in-store, and in the in-between.

 

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Our expert team has years of experience in delivering strategic branding and promotional partnerships.

If you’re interested in learning more about our promotional campaigns and the work that we do, please get in touch with a member of our team today at 02073179280.