Beyond the Basket: The cultural forces that are shaping how Gen Z shop

For Gen Z, the journey to purchase is not linear. It involves a complicated web of touchpoints cultural influences. The notion of brand love is changing as “hype” trend cycles speed up, new brands emerge, stale brands die, dead brands are resurrected and iconic brands trailblaze by staying culturally tuned into the behaviors and attitudes of their communities. In order to stay ahead of the curve, brands need to balance being omnipresent in the hearts and minds of their audience, by aligning to the attitudes and shared values of communities, while engineering a dynamic path to purchase that can flex to the expectations and needs of the individual, as well as the environment or context that they are appearing in. CMOs need to consider how their retail strategy contributes to the brands’ overall footprint in culture, in order to convert passive behavior into active. This means deeply understanding their customers’ values, preferences, and behaviors and creating experiences that feel authentic and relevant. To drive conversions, CMOs must understand that every element of their brand ecosystem is effectively now a shopwindow where they can integrate culture to click-through, and so must embrace the “messy middle” of the purchase journey. If culture is to be a catalyst that can accelerate brand lust as well as maintain brand love, then experiences must be meaningful and consistent, allowing customers to effortlessly move from interest to active purchase. By making interactions feel natural, authentic and welcomed, brands can capitalize on moments of opportunity and create lasting customer relationships.

“Culture that converts to people choosing a product is what’s key and that can happen anywhere. Striking the balance between brand love and lust can help provide brands with immediate commercial gains and long-term relevancy” – Lauren Winter, Global Managing Director of Consumer Culture

In partnership with Omnicom’s digital commerce agency, Flywheel, Beyond the Basket demonstrates our unique approach to retail by helping brands navigate culture and make meaningful connections with audiences, creating culture that converts.

Download a copy of the report here.