Gen Z is fueling a social shopping explosion, with 39% now having purchased and 76% having discovered products on social media platforms, according to Salesforce’s latest Connected Shoppers Report.
The future of retail hinges on capturing the market for Gen Z, a demographic born between the mid-to-late 1990s and early 2010s that is expected to command up to $9 trillion in global spending power by 2034 – more than any other generation.
Social media shopping — a fragmented landscape made up of dozens of platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube — is a key battleground.
Retailers need a unified commerce platform that combines AI capabilities, a centralised data foundation, and seamless application interoperability to manage these increasingly complex shopping journeys.
53% of all shoppers now discover products through social platforms, up from 46% in 2023. Gen Z is leading the charge, with 76% using social media to find products.
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While YouTube dominates overall, TikTok is a Gen Z hotspot, attracting 40% of younger shoppers compared to just 4% of Baby Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964.
“Social commerce is the latest channel for digital spending that is fragmenting across a constellation of marketplaces, retailer websites, brand sites, and delivery apps, rather than consolidating into a single channel,” said Linda Saunders, Country Leader and Senior Director Solutions Engineering, Africa. “Brands that fully embrace its potential will be in prime position to capture their share of the growing Gen Z market.”
The AI effect
A new trend is emerging in retail: Generation Z is embracing artificial intelligence (AI) to discover and evaluate products at significantly higher rates than older shoppers.
According to the data, more than half (54%) of Gen Z consumers have used generative AI for product discovery and evaluation, compared to just 39% of the general population.
The divide is even starker when comparing Gen Z to baby boomers. Young shoppers are 10 times more likely than their older counterparts to frequently rely on AI for finding new products.
Additionally, Gen Z is 2.7 times as likely to prefer AI-driven product recommendations, with 63% open to suggestions from AI agents versus only 23% of baby boomers.
This shift highlights how younger consumers are rapidly adopting AI tools to streamline their shopping experiences, while older generations remain more hesitant.
As AI-powered retail solutions continue to evolve, businesses may need to adapt their strategies to cater to this tech-savvy demographic.
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