The change in lifestyle and time has had a drastic change on what we do today with our money. Evolving from barter system to today’s Bitcoin, money has had an important role to play. I never think about the money I spend. At the same time, I think about what happens when I save it all?
I belong to Generation Z, meaning the generation of those born after 1997. My generation eldest would be in their early 20’s graduating college and entering the work force. The Gen Z is very much different from the previous generations which thought about saving instead of spending.
From my understanding belonging to Gen Z, the ability of being a smart shopper and financial independency is in built as we grew up along with the digital world. The shopping spree of the Gen Z is both online and offline. Known as the 1st generation of the native digital we express the quality of shopping online unlike the rest.
We never knew the world without internet! I expect a lot of online channels to understand my needs and necessity. Though being very skeptical about giving my information on the internet, I still believe that there is no other way for me to get all I want. With the statistics available from the users online, one-third of this generation is not comfortable sharing personal information about them and only 18% of the gen Z is likely to feel safe about the online payment information. But this does not stop the generation from using the online space.
Contrary to online shopping, the Gen Z is still open to making purchases at a retail store. The preference changes over time. From a statistic taken from the internet 98% of Gen Z though prefer shopping offline, opt for online shopping as the offers tend to be eye catchy.Also, it is easier to get the purchase done with return policy and door delivery. It has become convenient for us when we know that it is just a click away to get the money back if we do not like the product. As being part of Generation Z, I feel happy that I belong to the community that holds 44-billion-dollar purchase power but is it something that I actually should think about? Though I am financially independent, I do worry about the money I spend on. Not long ago I purchased a lot of clothes and products online, but something that made me think is I have got all these items even without going through the point if I would need them!
I tried to understand if all of Gen Z were living the life of a minimalist as we claim to be, how did this generation come to the top of the list of the purchasing power. The money that Gen Z receives from allowance and gifts amount up to 58% which is the main reason that we topped the list. The difference between Gen Z and the previous generation or as we say Millennials is that they have been on centre stage forever.
The Millennials did not have the choice to live on their own then. There was a difference in lifestyle. They were conscious about the money spent and their focus was on valuing the product they decided to buy unlike us. I landed up on this point after carefully verifying the differences between the Gen z and Millenials.
Millenials always considered brand alternatives and importance of the brand where as Gen Z relied on the product based on influencers and loyalty to the brand. Though Gen Z’s financial management has moved variedly from savings to expenditure, the 2.6 billion members of this generation are a group to watch as they grow up and enter the workforce. Their financial management looks to be off to a strong start thanks to their frugal mindsets and entrepreneurial attitudes. They’ve proven so far that they’re ready to responsibly make and manage their money to avoid the financial issues they’ve grown up with.
