This holiday season, as members of Gen Z—the generation known for their affinity for convenience and endless personalization—pick out gifts for loved ones, they’re exerting an outsized influence on the overall shopping landscape, experts say.
Members of Gen Z (born around 1995-2010), have been immersed in e-commerce their entire lives. And as of right now, Amazon is the largest digital retailer. It generated about $575 billion in sales in 2023, more than a third of all online purchases. The company has been growing at about a 20% clip over the past several years, according to Forrester Research.
Online check-out counters from businesses like Walmart, eBay and Aliexpress are frequented by members of Gen Z, due to ease of access. E-commerce will grow to $6.8 trillion business by 2028—accounting for 24% of global retail and 28% of American retail sales, the Forrester predicts. Amazon itself had a 200% rise in profits during the pandemic, though it has somewhat leveled off since then.
Gen Z is becoming a force to be reckoned with. Research from Uniquely Generation Z had predicted the age cohort will soon have $44 billion in buying power. That’s already risen to $143 billion a year, representing about 40% of global consumer spending. With the popularity of e-commerce among this group, classic retail brands like Macy’s, Ted Baker, Outdoor Voices, Rue21 and The Body Shop have been closing stores and laying off staff.
Gen Z children influence household spending decisions, and even the youngest members of the age-range are having an impact. A study from a few years back suggested children influence 93% of parents’ household spending. A 2024 report by Morning Consult found 35% of Gen Zers spend over four hours a day using social media (with only 4% on these apps less than an hour a day). And about 85% of Gen Zers say social media influences what they buy, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers.
Los Gatos High School English teacher Brian Schunk, 27, comments how, if he’s going to buy something, “Almost certainly, it would be online.”
Ashir Rao, 18, a freshman at Cornell University, says he doesn’t regularly frequent small shops.
“Even local businesses feel far away,” he said. “We spend more time on our phones and that’s where e-commerce is—so, it feels easier.”
LGHS junior Lydia Chun, 16, agrees that shopping online is more convenient.
“It’s easy to compare prices, and it lets me get really picky,” she said.
However, when shopping for others, she says she does prefer IRL purchases.
“In addition to being way more fun, I think shopping in person feels more personal and meaningful,” she said. “You create the time to put more thought into shopping and form a bond and meraki with the object—which you just can’t get online.”
There are benefits to getting to see items for yourself before buying.
“It’s great for when you don’t specifically know what to get someone,” she said.
Indeed, a desire for meaningful gifts is a common thread among Gen Z.
As a recent Ernst & Young report recently stated, “Authenticity is the most important value for Gen Z — even beyond future plans and being rich.”
This seemed to resonate with our interviewees.
“A meaningful gift comes from listening to your loved ones, not just during the holidays but throughout the year so you really get to know what they want,” Rao said.
Or as LGHS senior Nico Goméz-Llagaria put it, “Personal gifts are usually references to past conversations or something they have talked about a lot.”
For the 17-year-old, that means thinking about the transition to universities: “My friends are all going to college soon, so I get gifts that would be cool to have in dorms, like a karaoke machine.”
Older Gen Z members seem to feel similarly.
“My friends and I do a Secret Santa and we try to give each other gifts that are some mix of meaningful and funny,” Schunk says. “We try to do homemade gifts whenever we can, some sort of customization, not really looking to buy things as much as make them.”
Saratoga High School senior Beverly Xu, 18, does this, too.
“Oftentimes, I try to make gifts,” she said. “So, I’ll go to Michaels to get materials,” in addition to gift shopping on Amazon.
For many Gen Z members, the thoughtfulness behind a gift often matters more than the gift itself. Experiences can hold even greater meaning, as 15-year-old LGHS sophomore Iliana Finney explains.
“I think it depends on the person,” Finney said. “I honestly think experiences or activities are the best gifts. I feel like making memories and creating more meaningful relationships with those you’re close with is better than any material gift–most of the time. I do think material gifts can also be great, but I personally have only found them to be a great gift when it’s something that holds value to the person receiving it.”
This could be a gift basket that triggers a past memory, or something related to a hobby, such as upgraded animation software or better camera.
“I don’t think that all gifts have to be expensive,” she said. “It comes down to the value of it to the other person.”
A simple gift card isn’t enough to pass muster for Gen Z, who find bespoke gifts much more appreciated.
And when it comes to an expensive gift, Finney mentions how, “I would probably buy it online unless it was an item that I explicitly could only really buy from a local business.”
It does happen occasionally, especially if that business is well known for something, such as Bharat Desi Bazaar, an Indian grocery chain primarily in the Bay Area where Rao once sourced ornaments for his mother.
Unlike many peers, Finney typically shops in-person, “—whether that’s local businesses or a common store like Walmart.”
Chun, who also finds more value shopping in-person, has a preference for larger retail stores.
“While I like going to local businesses, I do so more while traveling, and usually go to chain stores when at home, because they usually offer more variety, are more familiar (especially for return policies), and often have lower prices,” Chun said.
When Gen Z does wander through shopping aisles, that’s often at big box shops like Walgreens, Target, Costco, Gap and Uniqlo. Local boutiques can struggle to fit into this picture.
Schunk, for example, says how, “It hasn’t occurred to (him) to actively support a Los Gatos local business.”
The only way to avoid falling behind in the new era of shopping, is to get online.
After all, more than half of American Gen Z and Millennial consumers polled by GoDaddy, said if they couldn’t find an online review for a new small business, they’d probably skip it. A third said a website under construction, or merely missing contact information, would be enough to dissuade them.
But if they do come across a helpful write-up—and like what they read—it could be enough to pique their curiosity and send them strolling along downtown streets, once again.
