Key Takeaways

• Being the first generation to experience a declining population and low economic growth, South Korea's Gen Z sets and follows its personal standards. They are more focused on the present rather than long-term goals. They are less invested in celebrity endorsements and more interested in peer recommendations and word of mouth from family and friends.
•  Twenty-four percent of Japanese Gen Zers are brand-conscious followers who focus on watching and buying the trending brands. They rely on word of mouth from their peers (recommendations) to find out about new products and brands.
•  Ninety-two percent of Mexican Gen Zers find it essential to always be true to who they are. Eighty-nine percent of Mexican Gen Zers determine their own moral code. Therefore, 90% of them are open to changing their views based on new things they learn. Forty-one percent of them feel unprepared to work long hours.

Introduction

Gen Z: South Korea

1. Lifestyle and Media Consumption Habits

• Gen Z mobile app users in South Korea "are heavily engaged with non-gaming apps." Thus, the top social and communication apps that Gen Zers in South Korea are using are Everytime, Discord, Nexon Play, Snapchat, and DC Inside. Moreover, the most popular game in South Korea was Supercell's Brawl Stars.
• According to an online survey, Gen Zers prefer actual in-person meetings over online conversations (28.3%+21.7% = 50%). Nineteen percent (7.2%+11.8% = 19%) of respondents prefer online conversations.

 

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•  Seventy-four percent of Gen Zers in South Korea prefer visual content over text content, while 20% of Gen Zers are neutral. Less than six percent prefer text content.

2. Spending Habits

• About 20.3% of Gen Zers don't receive monthly pocket money from their parents, while 36.4% (21.2%+15.2%) of Gen Zers receive less than 100 thousand South Korean won. The chart below details the breakdown by the amount of pocket money received.

 

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• South Korean Gen Zers spend their pocket money on buying snacks (60.8%), food (57.5%), transportation (50.5%), clothes (44.2%), and hobby-related costs (40.5%).

 

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3. Shopping Habits

• A McKinsey survey identified six segments among Gen Z shoppers in South Korea. The largest segments are explained below.
•  Fourteen percent are brand-conscious followers who are focused on watching and buying the brands that are trending. "They like to mix and match to create a personal style and tend not to be loyal to particular brands."
•  Twenty-eight percent are premium shopaholics who love to shop. "They are brand loyal and trade up to pricier brands when they can afford to do so."
•  Twenty-six percent are ethical confident. "They like brands that speak to their values, and they don’t care as much about trends or prestige. They prefer brands that they perceive as environmentally responsible and socially ethical."
• Gen Zers in South Korea typically rely on word of mouth from their peers (recommendations) to find out about new products and brands. In fact, they are less invested in celebrity endorsements and more interested in peer (family and friends) recommendations.

4. Personal Traits and Values

• South Korea’s Gen Z is the first generation to experience a declining population and low economic growth. Thus, Gen Z places "emphasis on personal standards and develop spending habits for products personalized for them."
• They are more focused on the present rather than long-term goals. "With the explosion of mobile technology and social media, Generation Z is familiar with the variety of apps and services that require effort to manage. This has led to a tendency to be strict in time management and prioritizing certain activities over others for the sake of efficiency."

5. Interests and Likes

• As of 2019, the top five interests among Gen Z in South Korea were leisure activities (games, shopping, movies, etc.), future career/occupation, appearance (beauty, fashion, plastic surgery, hairstyle, etc.), diet/exercise, and SNS (Social Network Service). The chart below details the top interests for South Korean Gen Z.

 

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Gen Z: Japan

1. Lifestyle and Media Consumption Habits

• Gen Z mobile app users in Japan "are heavily engaged with non-gaming apps." Thus, the top apps Gen Zers in Japan are using are Snapchat, PixIV, Discord, KakaoTalk, and Instagram. Moreover, Japanese Gen Zers spending twice the time in games on their mobile devices compared to the global average.
• About 60.5% of Japanese Gen Zers use video-sharing websites the most, while 50.7% of them play many online games. Moreover, they use social media daily, with Line, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Tik-Tok, and Facebook being the most-used platforms.

2. Attitudes toward Work

• Japanese Gen Zers believe in the way of working that allows them to reach their work-life balance. "These ideas are attracting the attention of Japan’s millennials and Gen Z for their unconfined flexibility between work and private life and for their more integrated approach."
• Moreover, they express their interest in "diverse working styles and side jobs but are concerned about instability." Thus, they are receptive to slash careers and the gig economy in general.
•  Sixty-four percent of Gen Zers in Japan expect to continue working at their current companies for two years or less, according to the 2019 Millennial Attitudes Survey conducted by Deloitte in Japan. "Deloitte’s 2020 Annual Millennial Survey revealed that the number of Japanese millennials and Gen Z who want to leave their current employer within two years decreased compared to 2019. In contrast, the percentage of those who wish to stay with their current employer for five years or more increased since 2019."

3. Shopping and Spending Habits

• A McKinsey survey, identify six segments among Gen Z shoppers in Japan. The largest segments are explained below.

•  Twenty-four percent are brand-conscious followers who are focused on watching and buying the brands that are trending. "They like to mix and match to create a personal style and tend not to be loyal to particular brands."
•  Twenty-one percent are premium shopaholics who love to shop. "They are brand loyal and trade up to pricier brands when they can afford to do so."
•  Fourteen percent are ethical confident. "They like brands that speak to their values, and they don’t care as much about trends or prestige. They prefer brands that they perceive as environmentally responsible and socially ethical."

• Japanese Gen Zers rely on word of mouth from their peers (recommendations) to find out about new products and brands. In fact, they are less invested in celebrity endorsements and more interested in peer (family and friends) recommendations.
• To make purchase decisions, Japanese Gen Zers consult several information sources, including websites (66.4%), family and friends (54.2%), and social media (40.9%).

4. Personal Traits and Values

• Gen Zers in Japan are "keen advocates for gender equality and as a result, have rather a liberal approach." They also believe in responsibility equality at home and in the workplace.
• They look for products and brands that ensure the balance between durability and cost, known as cost performance. By buying cheaper fashion brands, they take advantage of leaning into fast fashion trends and adapting their style to suit their personal identity.
• Gen Zers are less political than other age cohorts. "They tend to shy away from protesting about pressing issues affecting society and are reluctant to make their opinion heard out in the streets. But this doesn’t mean they refrain completely. Instead, they mostly choose to demonstrate their support online, under the more anonymous guise of social media or through the signing of petitions."

5. Happiness and Mental Health

• The factors that are contributing to overall happiness for Japanese Gen Zers are the following.
• Maintaining good physical and mental health: 92%
• Having a good relationship with family: 85%
• Having a good relationship with friends: 85%
• The factors causing anxiety are money (50%), school pressures (36%), health (26%), friends and peers (26%), and family (16%).

Gen Z: Mexico

1. Lifestyle and Media Consumption Habits

•  Eighty-one percent of Mexican Gen Zers use their smartphones to connect to the internet, while 69% of them connect via laptop.
• The leading social media network among Gen Zers in Mexico is Facebook, with 95% of Gen Zers using it. Next, come YouTube (81%) and Instagram (53%). The chart below the breakdown of social media consumption by platform.

 

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2. Attitude toward Work

•  Forty-one percent of Gen Zers in Mexico feel unprepared to work long hours. Moreover, nearly 14% of Gen Zers "plan to leave their first full-time job in less than a year."
• "Gen Zers are drawn to the ability to work their own schedules in gig jobs." Sixty-five percent of Mexican Gen Zers value the most is being their own boss, as one of the most appealing attributes of the gig economy
• They are concerned about the lack of structure in the gig economy. Sixteen percent of Mexican Gen Zers view the lack of structure as the most concerning issue in the gig economy.

3. Shopping and Spending Habits

• The top services and products bought online among Gen Zers in Mexico are music (47%), clothes (46%), bank transactions (31%), entertainment tickets (31%), and movies (29%).

 

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• Forty-eight percent of Gen Zers don't pay attention to online ads because they find them boring, while 45% say online ads annoy them when browsing. Forty-two percent of Mexican Gen Zers say that online ads don't attract their attention.

 

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4. Personal Traits and Values

•  Ninety-two percent of Gen Zers find it essential to always be true to who they are.
•  Eighty-nine percent of Mexican Gen Zers determine their own moral code. Therefore, 90% of them are open to changing their views based on new things they learn.
•  Ninety percent of Gen Zers respect others' ideas and creations.

5. Attitude toward Brands and Loyalty

• About 82% of Gen Zers stated that they care more about the product itself and whether it fits their needs, and they care less about the brand name.
• Ninety percent of Gen Zers "believe that brands should aim to do good in the world." They also believe that brands should be accessible to every customer.
• Sixty-three percent of them "gravitate towards brands with an inspiring and encouraging message."

Research Strategy