How – and, above all, what – Gen Z buys

Written on 17 April, updated on 24 June 2026

This article focuses mainly on non-food products, but whilst writing about drinks (Coca-Cola) and fast food (McDonald’s), I realised just how much Gen Z’s food preferences have changed.

Nowadays, Generation Z – born between 1996 and 2015 – mainly uses a combination of search engines and chatbots (33%) or chatbots alone (25%) to research products.

The remaining 42 per cent use Google and similar search engines.

Naturally, the US retail landscape favours digitalisation:

Target, Walmart, Ralph Lauren and other retailers have unveiled this year [2025] chatbots that act as style consultants and shopping assistants. This means that anyone looking for matching pyjamas for the whole family can ask a chatbot to help them choose from the various options, or to provide a summary of customer reviews on an air fryer.

At the same time, artificial intelligence companies are entering the e-commerce sector. In September, OpenAI launched an instant payment feature in ChatGPT that allows users to purchase items from shops such as Etsy without leaving the chat. This month, Google announced an AI-powered assistant capable of calling local shops to check the availability of an item, whilst Amazon introduced a feature that monitors price drops and automatically purchases an item if it falls within the user’s budget…

Then there are three other key points:

• these young people very often buy second-hand clothing or goods
• they have significant purchasing power – 12,000 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal of 9 March 2026
• they shop in shopping centres (malls)

What does Gen Z buy?

Last year, Ella Henry bought all her Christmas presents second-hand. Henry, a 21-year-old student at Western Kentucky University, wanted to save money. But she ended up enjoying the hunt and the surprise of finding items she would never have seen in a traditional shop. This year, her family has taken a leaf out of her book: all their Christmas presents must be bought second-hand.

Today, on Black Friday, many Gen Z shoppers won’t be trawling through luxury boutiques or the aisles of big-box stores in search of their gifts. Instead,they’re turning to second-hand shops, consignment shops and resale apps. Around 86% of Gen Z say they’re more likely to buy a second-hand Christmas present this year than in the past, according to an eBay report.

One reason is money. Gen Z’s Christmas spending this year is set to fall by 23 per cent, according to recent research, so a second-hand jumper from a major brand — which costs less and lasts longer — seems like a winning choice.

But it’s not just about saving money. Consumers in this age group — aged between 13 and 28 — are looking for pieces with character. They’ve grown up on social media, where influencers have made thrifting [ the hunt for vintage designer pieces] fun, stylish and highly personal. Now they want something unique. Something with a story. Something you won’t find in a shopping centre window.

Spotting a trend

It didn’t happen overnight. The pandemic lockdowns ‘definitely accelerated’ this trend, said Danielle Vermeer, product manager at ThredUp, an online marketplace for second-hand clothing. Young people were scrolling through TikTok and seeing environmental and social critiques of fast fashion. They missed going out, doing something meaningful and rediscovering a bit of joy offline. When infection rates fell, thrifting [hunting for vintage designer pieces] offered all of this: sustainability, nostalgia, community and a reason to venture out of the house again.

Social media provided a decisive boost. Videos ofthrift hauls,wardrobe clear-outsand$20 challenges in second-hand shopsare racking up millions of views. Executives at BaseCamp Franchising, the parent company of several resale businesses, report that teenagers are walking into shops and filming the whole experience. There’s a wave of posts with the hashtags#Thriftmasand#ThriftHaul.

Unsurprisingly, over the past year, Gen Z shoppers have increased in number atGoodwillshops and onThe RealReal(a luxury second-hand marketplace). Sellers are also very much present, offering their clothes to earn a bit of extra cash.
“I’ve been thrifting for over twenty years, and when I was a teenager it wasn’t considered cool at all,” said Vermeer. “This is the energy that Gen Z brings to the world of second-hand shopping.”

This generation doesn’t want to talk to a shop assistant but to a friend or an influencer (The Wall Street Journal, 9 March 2026)

Revival fashion

Hannah Moffitt, 25, is a content creator.

Another driving force comes from the return of styles from the past. Jasmine Simpson, a 25-year-old social media specialist, loves discovering clothes and jewellery in Brooklyn that hark back to the early 2000s — think TLC, Destiny’s Child, ‘old-school’ denim or anything that looks like it’s straight out of a music video. Her best find? A fur coat for $40.

Last Christmas, her sister gave her a pair of second-hand Chanel shoes for around $325, and this year she wants to return the favour. She’ll start her search online this weekend and then, if she doesn’t find anything, she’ll head to physical second-hand shops.

For years, Hannah Moffitt, a 25-year-old content creator from Hartford, Connecticut, had a negative view of thrifting. She could never find clothes in her size at her local Goodwill, and the shop seemed untidy to her, she says. But an impromptu trip to Savers with her boyfriend — who grew up with a passion for second-hand shops — changed her perspective.

She now buys mainly second-hand or from small businesses, and even her gift list has changed. Last year, she split her Christmas shopping between thrift shops and high-street chains; this year, she wants to switch entirely to second-hand – right down to the wrapping paper and boxes. She and her boyfriend are even thinking of buying second-hand decorations for their wedding.

“One person’s rubbish is another person’s treasure,”she said.

The Wall Street Journal of 9 March 2026 reports: young people are shopping in shopping centres (and have the means to do so).

In this context,certain phenomena are emerging,such as Vinted or TJ Maxx, which I have already mentioned.

The operator of the TJ Maxx and Marshalls chains in the United States, and TK Maxx in Europe and Australia, has perfected the art of negotiating favourable prices for surplus stock from fashion brands and homeware retailers. It then resells these items in its more than 5,000 stores at discounts of 20 to 60 per cent off the list price.

TJX is thriving thanks to consumers seeking refuge from the rising cost of living. Last month, the discount clothing group reported a 5% increase in like-for-like sales in 2025, continuing to attract shoppers away from department stores and large retailers.

TJX posted a net profit of $5.5 billion on turnover of $60 billion. The group, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary this year, is now the fourth-largest traditional retailer in the US by market capitalisation, behind Walmart, Costco and Home Depot.

Since the 2008 financial crisis, TJX’s share price has risen from $6 to $155, bringing its market capitalisation to $173 billion.

And Vinted has reported that the total value of goods sold on its platform rose by 47% in 2025, reaching €10.8 billion.

Conclusion: Gen Zers think in a completely different way to even their older brothers and sisters. And these behaviours will revolutionise retail.

It’s not just about saving money : Gen Z – as many have written to me on LinkedIn – is looking for a sense of authenticity, smart value for money, experience and consistency of values. Not to mention the fact that they would like to avoid – at least in theory – the waste and pollution caused by fast fashion.