Key Insights
Essential data points from our research
33% of Gen Z consumers have bought a product based on an influencer's recommendation in the past three months
44% of Gen Z has made a purchase decision based on a recommendation from a social influencer, compared to only 26% of the general population
Nearly 75% of Gen Z consumers say they follow influencers who look like them or share their style
TikTok is the top platform for Gen Z influencer engagement, with 60% of users in this demographic visiting the app daily
Instagram Reels has seen a 20% increase in Gen Z usage specifically for following lifestyle influencers
95% of Gen Z uses YouTube, making it a critical platform for long-form influencer reviews
80% of Gen Z prefer content that feels 'authentic' and 'un-staged' over highly produced videos
Comedic skits are the most engaged-with form of influencer content for 52% of Gen Z users
Short-form video (under 60 seconds) is the preferred format for 68% of Gen Z looking for brand information
Brands are expected to spend over $7 billion on influencer marketing targeting Gen Z in 2024
Nano-influencers (1k-10k followers) have the highest engagement rate with Gen Z at approximately 5%
40% of Gen Z identifies as a 'creator' themselves, blurring the line between audience and influencer
40% of Gen Z use TikTok specifically for information retrieval, treating it like a search engine
Hashtags are the primary discovery tool for 46% of Gen Z users looking for niche communities
65% of Gen Z have discovered a new music artist via a viral influencer trend
Content Preferences & Authenticity
- 180% of Gen Z prefer content that feels 'authentic' and 'un-staged' over highly produced videos
- 2Comedic skits are the most engaged-with form of influencer content for 52% of Gen Z users
- 3Short-form video (under 60 seconds) is the preferred format for 68% of Gen Z looking for brand information
- 4Gen Z engages 30% more with User Generated Content (UGC) than professional studio photography
- 5Educational content (EduTok) is preferred by 38% of Gen Z who follow creators to learn new skills
- 6Content featuring diversity and inclusion receives 41% higher engagement from Gen Z audiences
- 7Over 60% of Gen Z say they like when influencers show their failures or 'behind the scenes' struggles
- 8Interactive content (polls, Q&A stickers) drives 2x more engagement from Gen Z than passive consumption posts
- 9Gen Z has a high sensitivity to 'cringe' content; 45% will unfollow an influencer if their sponsored content feels forced
- 10Get Ready With Me' (GRWM) videos have a 75% retention rate among female Gen Z viewers
- 11Long-form vlogs (Over 10 minutes) are seeing a resurgence, with 25% of Gen Z watching them for 'comfort' content
- 12Meme-based marketing by influencers achieves a 20% higher share rate among Gen Z compared to standard promotional posts
- 1357% of Gen Z prefer influencers who speak actively about social justice and climate change
- 14Captioning is crucial; 40% of Gen Z watch influencer stories with the sound off, relying on closed captions
- 15The 'photo dump' trend on Instagram commands higher engagement than single curated photos for Gen Z creators
- 16Influencers using vertical video formats get 13.5x more organic reach among Gen Z than horizontal video
- 1733% of Gen Z follows 'faceless' influencers (aesthetic or compilation accounts) where the creator isn't visually present
- 18ASMR content consumption has grown 15% among Gen Z looking for stress relief from creators
- 19Tutorial and 'How-to' content is the second most popular category for Gen Z after entertainment
- 20Gen Z prefers content creators who post daily, with 40% stating they feel a disconnect if posting frequency drops
Interpretation
Gen Z wants realness not polish: they flock to short vertical clips like comedic skits, GRWM and quick tutorials with captions and interactive stickers, reward UGC, diversity, behind the scenes honesty, edu and memeable comfort content and social advocacy, and will happily share relatable posts but will unfollow creators whose sponsored content feels forced or who post inconsistently.
Creator Economy & Industry Trends
- 1Brands are expected to spend over $7 billion on influencer marketing targeting Gen Z in 2024
- 2Nano-influencers (1k-10k followers) have the highest engagement rate with Gen Z at approximately 5%
- 340% of Gen Z identifies as a 'creator' themselves, blurring the line between audience and influencer
- 4The Creator Economy is valued at $104.2 billion, with Gen Z driving 60% of current growth
- 5Brand partnerships with micro-influencers cost 6.7x less per engagement than with macro-influencers for Gen Z campaigns
- 672% of marketers intend to increase their budget specifically for TikTok influencers to reach Gen Z
- 754% of Gen Z say they would become an influencer if given the opportunity, viewing it as a viable career path
- 8The top 1% of influencers capture only 20% of Gen Z brand spend, indicating a shift to the 'long tail' of creators
- 9Cost Per Mille (CPM) on TikTok for Gen Z audiences is currently 50% cheaper than Facebook Reels
- 10Agency spend on virtual influencers (AI-generated) to target Gen Z has increased by 15% year-over-year
- 11Affiliate marketing via creators is the fastest-growing revenue stream, utilized by 45% of Gen Z-focused brands
- 12The engagement gap is widening: Gen Z engages 20% less with verified 'celebrity' accounts than in 2020
- 13Beauty and Fashion remain the dominant industries, capturing 45% of all Gen Z influencer marketing budget
- 14User Generated Content campaigns yield a 29% higher web conversion rate for Gen Z than campaigns without UGC
- 1563% of Gen Z focused brands are moving to long-term ambassador programs rather than one-off posts
- 16Influencer whitelisting (paid ads run through creator handles) improves Gen Z Click-Through Rates by 25%
- 1720% of Gen Z creators are now monetizing directly through platforms (Creator Funds) rather than brand deals alone
- 18The finance influencer sector ('FinTok') grew 150% in ad spend to target Gen Z investors
- 19Gaming influencers command a 12% higher average engagement rate from Gen Z men than sports influencers
- 20Employee advocacy (employees acting as influencers) is a rising trend, with content receiving 8x more engagement from Gen Z tech workers
Interpretation
With brands set to spend over $7 billion on Gen Z influencer marketing in 2024, the data make one thing clear; Gen Z is a creator-first economy where 40% identify as creators and together they drive 60% of the $104.2 billion Creator Economy, so smart marketers are shifting budget from celebrity megastars to the long tail of nano and micro creators who deliver roughly 5% engagement and cost 6.7 times less per engagement, doubling down on TikTok, UGC, whitelisting and affiliate models that boost conversions and CTRs while FinTok, beauty and fashion, virtual influencers and employee advocates surge, which all boils down to this: stop buying celebrity shine and start partnering with creators.
Platform Preference & Usage
- 1TikTok is the top platform for Gen Z influencer engagement, with 60% of users in this demographic visiting the app daily
- 2Instagram Reels has seen a 20% increase in Gen Z usage specifically for following lifestyle influencers
- 395% of Gen Z uses YouTube, making it a critical platform for long-form influencer reviews
- 4Twitch is used by 20% of Gen Z males daily for gaming influencer content
- 5Gen Z spends an average of 3 hours per day on social media, largely consuming creator content
- 6Snapchats Creator Stories are viewed by 40% of Gen Z users daily
- 7LinkedIn is seeing a 30% rise in Gen Z 'career influencers' content consumption
- 8Pinterest usage among Gen Z increased by 40% year-over-year for aesthetic and moodboard inspiration from creators
- 9BeReal saw a massive spike with Gen Z, but only 10% engage with 'influencers' on the platform due to its anti-filter nature
- 1070% of Gen Z users say they prefer watching Stories (ephemeral content) over permanent feed posts on Instagram
- 11YouTube Shorts receives 30 billion daily views, heavily driven by Gen Z consumption of creator clips
- 12Gen Z is 59% more likely to connect with brands on Instagram than primarily text-based platforms like X (Twitter)
- 13Discord usage for creator-led communities has risen 15% among Gen Z fans seeking deeper connection
- 1425% of Gen Z users have hidden likes on Instagram to reduce pressure, impacting how influencers measure public success
- 15TikTok's search volume for product reviews by influencers has surpassed Google Search for 40% of Gen Z users
- 16On average, Gen Z follows 20+ influencers across different platforms
- 17Threads by Instagram saw initial Gen Z adoption, but retention for creator interactions dropped by 60% after the first month
- 18Video-first platforms account for 70% of Gen Z's social media time, prioritizing dynamic influencer content over static images
- 1931% of Gen Z users engage with influencers on the Metaverse or gaming environments like Roblox
- 20Audio-only influencer content (podcasts) reaches 43% of Gen Z weekly
Interpretation
Gen Z spends roughly three hours daily on social media and overwhelmingly favors video-first, platform-native creator content, with TikTok leading daily engagement and product-review searches, Instagram Reels and Shorts surging for lifestyle clips, YouTube dominating long-form trust, and Snapchat Stories, Twitch, Discord, Pinterest and LinkedIn capturing niche interests; since 70% prefer ephemeral Stories, 25% hide likes, only 10% follow influencers on BeReal, and the average Gen Zer follows 20-plus creators, brands that are everywhere but not authentic will be ghosted.
Purchasing Behavior & Trust
- 133% of Gen Z consumers have bought a product based on an influencer's recommendation in the past three months
- 244% of Gen Z has made a purchase decision based on a recommendation from a social influencer, compared to only 26% of the general population
- 3Nearly 75% of Gen Z consumers say they follow influencers who look like them or share their style
- 460% of Gen Z shoppers believe that influencers provide better product recommendations than traditional celebrities
- 5Gen Z is the generation most likely to start their holiday shopping early due to influencer content, with 37% doing so
- 640% of Gen Z admits to buying a product while watching a livestream from a creator
- 7Trust in mega-influencers (over 1M followers) has dropped among Gen Z, with only 1 in 10 trusting them implicitly to be honest about products
- 882% of Gen Z have purchased a product after seeing it on social media, known as the 'TikTok made me buy it' phenomenon
- 950% of Gen Z agree that social media serves as their primary channel for learning about new products to buy
- 10Discount codes provided by influencers drive sales for 56% of Gen Z demographics
- 1128% of Gen Z consumers say they monitor influencers specifically to see if a brand is ethical before buying
- 1262% of Gen Z say they are more likely to trust a brand if they work with small, niche creators rather than A-list celebs
- 13Nearly 70% of Gen Z consumers prefer influencers who are transparent about sponsorships and ad partnerships
- 1448% of Gen Z has returned a product because it did not look like it did in an influencer's video
- 15Gen Z consumers are 2x more likely than Boomers to purchase a product specifically to support a favorite creator
- 1635% of Gen Z say they have stopped buying from a brand because an influencer they follow criticized it
- 17Subscription-based purchases (like Patreon) to support influencers have grown 22% year-over-year among Gen Z
- 1869% of Gen Z consumers say they trust reviews from influencers and peers more than direct brand advertising
- 19The average Gen Z shopper spends $150–$200 annually on products discovered directly through influencer links
- 2055% of Gen Z consumers say they are comfortable buying directly through social apps like TikTok Shop or Instagram Checkout
Interpretation
Gen Z has quietly turned influencers into its unofficial shopping committee, with about a third buying from creators in the past three months and 82% having bought after seeing something on social media, 44% saying influencers shape their purchase decisions versus 26% of others, nearly three quarters following creators who look or style like them, and a clear preference for small, transparent creators over A-list celebs—trust in mega-influencers now sits at roughly one in ten—so livestreams, social checkout and discount codes drive impulsive buys and $150–$200 in annual influencer-linked spend, subscriptions and early holiday shopping are rising, and authenticity, ethics and accurate representation routinely trigger returns or brand boycotts.
Social Discovery & Search Habits
- 140% of Gen Z use TikTok specifically for information retrieval, treating it like a search engine
- 2Hashtags are the primary discovery tool for 46% of Gen Z users looking for niche communities
- 365% of Gen Z have discovered a new music artist via a viral influencer trend
- 4Gen Z is 30% more likely to discover products via 'For You Page' algorithms than through active searching on Amazon
- 5Travel destinations featured by influencers see a 15% booking increase among Gen Z travelers
- 658% of Gen Z discover new food and beverage brands solely through 'Foodie' influencers
- 7Visual search (using Pinterest Lens or Google Lens on influencer photos) is used by 25% of Gen Z shoppers
- 8Dupes' (cheaper alternatives) searches driven by influencers have risen 200% among Gen Z consumers
- 936% of Gen Z use social map features (like Snap Map) to discover local businesses recommended by peers
- 1083% of Gen Z users say Instagram is their top tool for discovering new brands
- 11Influencer unboxing videos drive a 15% increase in branded search queries on Google for Gen Z
- 1247% of Gen Z engage with 'nichecore' aesthetics discovered through micro-influencer communities
- 13Social SEO usage (optimizing captions for search) influences 30% of Gen Z's content discovery
- 1450% of Gen Z say they discover news and current events through influencers rather than news outlets
- 15Discovery of mental health resources via therapy influencers increased by 40% among Gen Z
- 16Gen Z is 25% more likely to discover B2B software tools via 'TechTok' influencers than industry whitepapers
- 17Book recommendations (BookTok) drove a 20% increase in young adult fiction sales, demonstrating community-led discovery
- 1842% of Gen Z discover fitness routines through 'FitFluencers' rather than gyms or trainers
- 19Podcast clips on TikTok are a primary discovery channel for long-form audio content for 35% of Gen Z
- 20Crowdsourced knowledge via influencer comments sections is utilized by 28% of Gen Z for validating product quality
Interpretation
Gen Z has quietly turned influencer feeds into the world’s new search engine and town square, using TikTok like Google, hashtags like neighborhood guides, Instagram like a brand directory, and comment sections and micro-communities as trusted review sites, so any brand that wants to be discovered must play by social SEO, algorithm-friendly content, and peer-driven credibility or risk being invisible.
