How much are brands relying on GenZs to drive sales this festive season?

According to a BCG and Snap Inc report, there is an estimate that by 2030, about 36 percent of Gen Zs would be able to join the workforce, and would be able to drive $730 billion of direct spends and $1.4 trillion in all. Keeping that aside, even currently, India consists of 377 million Gen Zs - people born between 1997-2012, that in itself, is the count more than the entire population of the US, currently driving $860 billion of total consumer spends. In such a scenario, it is not very hard to estimate brands' reliance upon the GenZs, when the biggest festival of India is just round the corner. 

Projections indicate that Gen Z will significantly influence sales this festive season, with estimates suggesting they could account for a substantial percentage of overall consumer spending, says Aditi Khandelwal, Co-founder of Kicky and Perky, a jewellery brand. "They are expected to contribute nearly upto 30% of sales. "This trend highlights the increasing economic power of Gen Z, making them a vital target for brands looking to thrive during the holiday shopping period," she further says. One of the reasons, cited by the co-founder for the reliance on Gen Z pronounced this year, is their entering the workforce. "As many are entering the workforce or engaging in ‘side hustles’, they possess greater disposable income, making them an attractive market segment for brands like us," she states. As per Khandelwal, the brand is strategically targeting Gen Z this festive season through personalisations, influencer collaborations, and ensuring engagement through social media. 

Fix My Curls, another brand that already drives 40-42% of the brand's sales is expecting almost about "45-50% of festive sales" to come from Gen Z customers this year. "They are the core focus in our brand strategy, especially across social media where they engage and convert well," says Anshita Mehrotra, the Managing Director and founder of the brand. Ensuring the sales, Fix My Curls is counting on this customer group with the gifting boxes and collaboration with other brand for this festive season. "Their spending power is on the rise, and we are expecting a stronger festive season response," Mehrotra adds.  

Counting the younger audience as the base for the strategies, the brands are not leaving any stone unturned in capturing the pulse of the preferences and traits of Gen Zs. Nitin Mohan, Co-founder and Director, of Blackberrys, a luxury clothing brand, says, "To connect to this generation better, we have partnered with a rising Indian cricketer, Ruturaj Gaikwad, for the 'TechPro line'."

Not only this, but Manasa, who works as a Creative Head for Que By M, a jewellery brand that is expecting 70% of its sales from Gen Z this festive season highlights that Gen Z is the "biggest decision-making force today and, plays a decisive role in selecting products for their families, making them a key demographic across the board"."Many of our customers come in to select jewellery, but they often seek the opinion of a Gen Z family member or friend before making the final decision. They (Gen Zs) influence purchasing decisions beyond their generation, including their parents and elders," Manasa, herself a Gen Z, says adding that the reliance on Gen Z is extremely high for most brands, this festive season. 

Alongside brands offering products, this age group has also been making a significant impact on the brands dealing in services. Dr. Meghna Mour, a dermat and the founder of SKUCCII, a luxury aesthetic clinic for skin and hair treatment observes that Gen Z is an important group this year. She says, "We expect Gen Z customers to make up about 20-30% of our sales this festive season, as their influence in the beauty market continues to grow."

Retailers not behind

While Bagline, a multi-brand retailer of luxury bags, travel gear, and lifestyle accessories and a division of Brands Concepts Ltd. is already enjoying a traffic of 75% from what they call a "Swipe-up generation", the director says that the brand is anticipating an increase by another 5% - 8% this festive season. "India's reliance on Gen Z is high this year; primarily because of their large population and influence on consumer spending. Gen Z is the largest age-based demographic in India, with an estimated 377 million people," Abhinav Kumar, the Director of Brand Concepts Ltd says. Kumar adds, "One of the emotional traits of the Gen Zs is gifting which has led to the launch of our “JOY of gifting”. 

E-commerce encashing

Talking to Local Samosa, Kumar also mentions that brands are witnessing Gen Z as a promising market. "Myntra has nearly doubled its Gen Z customer base in the past year," he further adds. Reportedly, Myntra has a separate section for Gen Zs while other e-commerce majors like Flipkart have also built an app-in-app fashion platform Spoyl for Gen Zs. Similarly, Amazon also launched its Next Gen store last year in April to offer a curated experience tailored to the ever-changing demands of Gen Z. "We were the first ones in India to launch a dedicated storefront for this generation. Since the launch, we have undergone a significant transformation and have seen 3X increase in our Gen Z customer cohort," Zeba Khan, the Director of Fashion and Beauty at Amazon India states. According to Khan, Amazon is leveraging its insights into Gen Z's engagement, which is twice as high on social platforms, to cater to this customer group.

International brands rekindling their presence in India, relying on the Gen Zs 

An age-old Swedish brand Oriflame, which has been present in India for various decades now has also recognised the potential of the Gen Zs in driving sales, making them set their proposition as per this generation's preferences. Edyta Kurek, the Senior Vice President of Oriflame India and Indonesia, says, "We might not have tapped into this audience before, but now that we are, it’ll be fascinating to see how the numbers play out by the end of the season," keeping the projections for sales undisclosed. 

The brand, hardly, among the preferred names for cosmetics right now is relying upon the "preference for sustainability among the Gen Zs" to drive sales from them. "With our European-standard products, 85% of which are made in India, our offer to become a 'brand partner' is likely to create a unique business opportunity," she says, explaining that becoming a 'brand partner' enables one to share the products while the company handles customer care and delivery systems. Commenting further, Kurek says, "Gen Z is thinking beyond the 9-to-5 grind—they want more flexibility, more freedom, and more control over their lives," reiterating how almost all brands - Indian or international - trying their best to identify the Gen Z-traits to make business during the festivities and beyond.