Effects of Product and Product Company Information on Generation Zs’ Purchasing Preferences

Abstract

The generational cohort now commonly referred to as Generation Z numbers approximately 65 million in the United States. They share a number of traits with their millennial predecessors, such as the aspiration to purchase from, and work for socially conscious companies. They are also the first generation to grow up with instantaneous access to information via digital mobile technology and rely on digital platforms and social media for information. To better understand how this emerging consumer category processes product information and product company information regarding social behaviors, an experimental design and two methods of analysis (Choice-Based Conjoint and Latent Class Cluster) are employed. Results indicate that Gen Z consumers’ purchase preferences may be highly influenced by consumer product companies’ purported social and economic behavior, but other attributes remain highly relevant. Further, three distinctive need-based sub-segments combining certain product attributes and company social behavior, of the Gen Z cohort may exist.