Post-COVID Gen-Z Trends to Know in 2022: by Dylan Chung and Anja Husemann
The Schieber Research internship program proves to be an amazing way for the company to discover more ways to detect possible trends. Our process includes:
1. Identifying potential trends. This could be through noticing behavior changes by you, your friends and family. By noticing that suddenly “everyone” is “obsessed” with something. By tracking influencers and creators and noticing what they are talking about and how. By tracking statistical data. By reading company and analyst reports. By tracking social media likes/shares/trends.
2. Using multiple sources to substantiate or debunk your (or ANY secondary source) gut feeling. This time using objective tools – statistical data tools (trend monitoring tools, sales data, website / social media statistics etc); competitors and creators actions success/failures, and so on.
3. Connecting the dots. This is the tricky part: understanding why something is happening, what it stems from, and what other things are at play. What is the source of the trend? A person? A cultural phenomenon? What is the consumer desire/need it serves?
When Anja, Dylan and I (Hamutal) made this report, we’ve gone through this process in depth. We asked A LOT of questions. We examined our assumptions and debated for hours. Mapping, erasing, researching, re-assessing we came to the following conclusions about Gen Z:
– We realized that COVID-19 created new awareness (environmental, societal) amongst Gen-Z consumers.
– This, along with the search for identity (typical of the age group in any generation), and the shift in social norms, connects to subcultures, non-binary consumers, upcycling, and prevention of food waste.
– We noticed the need to stand out in a virtual (onto the metaverse!) world – meaning, NFT or skins are a sub-trend and not “the need”.
– We noted that the rise in anxiety and the search for mental wellness in an isolated world brought with it the cultural trend of affirmations, body positivity and even tarot cards.
This summary is a mapping of our main findings. In the following weeks, we will upload more in-depth coverage of the different trends. Enjoy!
Hamutal (Tula), Anja, and Dylan