By now, Generation Z, born between 1996 and 2015, predominantly uses a mixture of search engines and chatbots (33%) or only chatbots (25%) to carry out their product searches.
The remaining 42% use Google and the like.
Obviously, the US retail environment favours digitisation:
Target, Walmart, Ralph Lauren and other retailers presented this year [2025] chatbots that act as style consultants and shopping assistants. This means that someone who wants to find matching pyjamas for the whole family can ask a chatbot to help them choose between options, or provide them with 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 chatroom. This month, Google announced an AI-based assistant that can call local shops to check the availability of an item, while Amazon introduced a feature that monitors price drops and automatically purchases an item if it is within the user’s budget…
Then there are three other important facts:
- these guys very often buy second-hand clothes or products
- have significant purchasing power 12 trillion, according to The Wall Street Journal of 9 March 2026
- they shop in shopping malls
What Gen Z buys
| By Kailyn Rhone
I work in retail and personal finance. (from the New York Times Newsletter) |
|
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 search and the surprise of finding items she would never have seen in a traditional shop. This year, her family took inspiration from her: all their Christmas presents must be bought second-hand.
Today, on Black Friday, many Gen Z shoppers will not be wandering the luxury boutiques or aisles of big megastores to look for their gifts. Instead, they are turning to thrift shops, consignment shops and resale apps. Some 86 per cent of Gen Zs say they are more likely to buy a second-hand Christmas gift this year than in the past, according to a report by eBay.
One of the reasons is money. Gen Z’s Christmas spending is set to drop 23% this year, according to recent research, so a second-hand jumper from a big 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 – between 13 and 28 – are looking for pieces with character. They have grown up on social media, where influencers have made thrifting [hunting for vintage designer clothes] fun, stylish and very personal. Now they want something unique. Something with a story. Something you can’t find in the window of a shopping mall.
Picking up on a trend
It didn’t happen overnight. Pandemic lockdowns have “absolutely 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 criticism of fast fashion. They felt the lack of going out, doing something concrete and finding some joy offline. When the contagions waned, thrifting [hunting for vintage designer clothes] offered it all: sustainability, nostalgia, community and a reason to get out of the house again.
Social media gave a decisive boost. Thrift haul videos, wardrobe clean-outs and $20 thrift shop challenges are racking up millions of views. Executives at BaseCamp Franchising, the parent company of several resale companies, say that teenagers enter the shops and film the whole experience. There is a wave of posts with the hashtags #Thriftmas and #ThriftHaul.
Not surprisingly, Gen Z shoppers have increased in the past year at Goodwill shops and on The RealReal (a luxury second-hand marketplace). Sellers are also very present, offering their garments to get some extra cash.
“I’ve been thrifting for over 20 years, and when I was a teenager it wasn’t considered cool at all,” Vermeer said. “This is the energy that Gen Z brings to the secondhand world.”
This generation doesn’t want to talk to a salesperson but to a friend or influencer (The Wall Street Journal 9 March 2026)
Fashion revival
Hannah Moffitt, 25, is a content creator.
Another boost comes from the revival 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 something out of a music video. Her best bargain? A fur coat for $40.
Last Christmas, her sister gave her a pair of second-hand Chanel shoes for about $325, and this year she wants to reciprocate. She’ll start her search online this weekend and then, if she doesn’t find anything, she’ll move on to physical thrift shops.
For years, Hannah Moffitt, a 25-year-old content creator from Hartford, Connecticut, had a negative opinion of thrifting. At her local Goodwill, she could never find clothes in her size and the shop seemed cluttered, she says. But an impromptu trip to Savers with her boyfriend – who grew up with a passion for second-hand shops – changed her perspective.
Now she mostly buys second-hand or from small businesses, and her gift list has also changed. Last year she divided her Christmas shopping between thrift stores and big chains; this year she wants to switch completely to secondhand – right down to wrapping paper and boxes. She and her fiancé are even planning to buy second-hand decorations for their wedding.
“What is junk to some is treasure to someone else,” she said.
The Wall Street Journal of 9 March 2026 certifies: the guys go shopping in malls (and have availability).
In this context, some phenomena such as Vinted or TJ Maxx, which I had already mentioned,emerge.
The manager of the chains TJ Maxx and Marshalls in the US, and TK Maxx in Europe and Australia, has honed the art of negotiating inventories of fashion brands and household goods at bargain prices. It then resells these items in its more than 5,000 shops at discounts of 20 to 60 per cent off the list price.
TJX is thriving on consumers seeking refuge from the rising cost of living. Last month, the discount clothing group reported a five per cent increase in like-for-like sales in 2025, continuing to attract shoppers from department stores and large retailers.
TJX made a net profit of $5.5 billion on sales 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.
Conclusion: Generation Z kids think completely differently than even their older brothers and sisters. And these behaviours will revolutionise retail.
