LTK Study Reveals Influencers are the Single Most Important Online Purchase Driver for Gen Z Adults
The purchasing power of digitally native, influencer-savvy Generation Z continues to be one of the most important and talked about factors for strategic digital marketers worldwide. A study conducted in June 2021 by LTK, the largest creator-powered marketing platform, further underscores this, identifying that 92% of Gen Z adults ages 18-25 make purchases based on influencer recommendations, putting them above advertising by brands or retailers, celebrities and store associates.
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“Their affinity for not only shopping from creators, but also the ways in which they use their advice as a filter for their lives and even the content they share with friends and family is further dimensionalizing the cross-generational impact creators have today.”
Gen Z makes up 40% of Influential Shoppers,™ a term used to describe social-savvy, hyper-loyal consumers who are responsible for two-thirds of the sales driven by social media influencer recommendations. This group doubles influencer sales and engagement among their own following due to their propensity to reshare on social media the items purchased through an influencer.
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Where is Gen Z Engaging
With nearly 75% of Gen Z doing their shopping online, these consumers naturally look to their favorite influencers to serve as their guides to the internet — flagging the best sales, researching the best quality items and curating all the must-haves of seasonal trends. Instagram is the top social site Gen Z visit to follow influencers, followed by YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, SnapChat, Pinterest, Twitter and Reddit, respectively. However, when it comes to resharing their shopping finds and purchases, the top three social sites used are Instagram, followed by Facebook and TikTok.
How Brand Marketers Can Take Advantage
With 80% of Gen Z reporting having significantly more or at least the same income as last year, the renewed incentive to shop is promising for marketers eager to capture their attention. In fact, the majority are showing great optimism about the return to normalcy after COVID, with 60% expecting it to resume by the 2021 holidays and 85% believing this to be the case by mid-2022.
