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Girls wearing Chinese flags on their cheeks take pictures as people gather in Tiananmen Square to celebrate National Day marking the 67th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, in Beijing October 1, 2016. Photo: Reuters

Gen Z are driving China’s consumer trend with impulse buying and instant gratification

Fast sales and a better leverage of social media could be the winning formula for retailers to catch China’s younger generation of consumers, the buying powerhouse of tomorrow, Accenture said on Thursday.

Consumers

They are young, technologically savvy, and they are impulse buyers who seek instant gratification by demanding same-day delivery of their purchases.

Meet China’s Generation Z, the drivers of consumer trends in the world’s most populous market.

Up to 70 per cent of China’s young adults between the ages of 18 and 22, known as the Gen Z, are interested to buy products directly through social media, a league ahead of the global average of 44 per cent, according to an Accenture survey of 10,000 consumers in 13 markets, including 1,000 in China.

“Gen Z is the next big consumer market and purchasing powerhouse,” said Yew Hong Koh, managing director of Accenture that leads retail industry practise in Asia Pacific.

To succeed in this increasingly digital world, retailers must understand the expectations of Gen Z customers, their circles of influence and their behaviour, especially their social-media habits and how they differ from those of the millennial generation who comes of age around 2000, he said. And as this generation matures, moves into the workforce and start families, their spending habits, preferences and brand loyalty will most likely endure, and influence their future spending.

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In China, the Gen Z has a higher tendency on impulse purchasing than the older millennials and are more willing to pay a premium for faster delivery, said Accenture.

About 34 per cent of Gen Z said they want same-day delivery, while another 27 per cent said they want instant delivery within two hours or within half a day. Only 22 per cent said they’re satisfied with next-day delivery.

In comparison, the older millennials are more tolerant of waiting, with 44 per cent of millennial customers saying they’re willing to put up with next-day delivery.

Better experiences with fast delivery can cater to the need of the younger generation, said Accenture in the report.

An earlier report from market research firm Kantar Media CIC noted that instant gratification is becoming increasingly popular in social media in China as more social media platforms incorporate content marketing and fast sales through an omnichannel operation to cater to the demand of tech-savvy younger consumers.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Online sales get a boost from Gen Z consumers
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