Gen Zalphas and Tilt-ing the Playing Field
*Yes, I coined this term. You heard it here first.
The shift from traditional media to streaming, real-time, and social commerce platforms has accelerated, with some Asian countries experiencing a dramatic change in market share. China has led the way with platforms like Douyin and Xiaohongshu, pioneering innovative tactics in conversion, cross-selling, and community building. These early movers have built a strong foundation for the social commerce market, which McKinsey projects will grow to $145 billion by 2027, up from $67 billion today. This growth is largely driven by Gen Z and millennials—one-third of whom have made purchases on social media in the past three months—and who are four times more likely to do so than older generations.
As video consumption surges—Hubspot recently reported over 3.3 billion digital video viewers worldwide—the integration of social interactions with e-commerce is becoming more seamless. This evolution is reshaping how consumers discover and buy products, with 89% of shoppers expressing a desire for more brand videos. The ongoing convergence of social media and commerce presents enormous opportunities for businesses.
And we're thrilled to be part of this journey through our investment in Tilt , who are revolutionising e-commerce through their real-time shopping platform.
Enter the Gen “Zalphas”*: Shifting Consumption Patterns
Since I started in the sector in 2013, I’ve seen a lot of impressive optimisation and adoption, but not much raw innovation in e-commerce. Platforms like Shopify (founded 2008), Squarespace (2004), and WooCommerce (2011) still largely function as they did when they launched, just faster and prettier. The “how” of shopping hasn’t fundamentally changed. Subscriptions had their moment, and the pandemic accelerated e-commerce, but we’re mostly back to pre-pandemic figures. Again, not innovation—just a pattern shift.
It’s surprising to me that, given the global digitisation craze, rising smartphone adoption (now at 69% worldwide), GenAI advances, and a growing middle class in Africa and Asia, we haven’t seen a more revolutionary way to shop by 2024. Add to that a new generation with mouthwateringly lucrative careers like influencer, digital nomad, and sustainability consultant—roles that didn’t exist a decade ago—and you’d think we’d have seen a commerce revolution by now.
This new generation of buyers, especially Gen Z and Alphas, already has well-defined consumption patterns:
Gen Z and Alphas are fascinatingly paradoxical—they fight for climate action while boosting Shein’s revenues. They’ve invented new careers, questioned the need for multiple degrees, and championed queer rights, all while taking to the streets in protest. Yet, the platforms that serve them haven’t kept up. These Twitchers, protesters, and mindful activists, demure, mindful brats (sorryyyy!) have diverse, slightly unpredictable, value-driven consumption habits.This generation understands that consumption has weight, motivations, and connotations. And Zalphas want the platforms they use to reflect their values and consumption habits – however paradoxical.
Real-Time Shopping: The West’s Slow Burn
Real-time shopping has reached the US and Europe, but its reception has been mixed, with exceptions in startups focusing on low-ticket items like collectibles, cards, and toys, or sneakers. This model—removing the friction between discovery and purchase—seems like a natural evolution. Social platforms now allow users to watch engaging content, interact with their favourite creators, and shop seamlessly without leaving the app. Despite this, even big players like TikTok, who have had great success in East Asia, have struggled to gain a foothold in Western markets. So why has real-time shopping been slower to take off in the West?
Coming from the fashion retailer side, we explored these features extensively during my time at Abercrombie and H&M. We became skilled in optimising clicks, conversion, ranking, pricing, cart starting and wallet openers, photography, handwriting, and CX—all to make the customer journey smoother. By building commerce data interoperability solutions, we saw the sector reshape growth marketing to intersect more seamlessly with product marketing.
Simply put, we optimised, and we were good at it.
Today, large retailers’ websites are fine-tuned to offer the best customer experience, with every detail meticulously considered. Yet, I rarely had the chance to break away from traditional strategies and leverage proprietary technology to solve fashion’s deeper challenges: managing supply and demand (overstock and understock), catering to a cash-conscious but values-driven Gen Z and Alpha, addressing FOMO and the desire for speed and life-like features, fixing size and fit issues, and, most importantly, a reimagining of how to reintegrate joy into platforms to meet fashion’s evolving significance.
In short, we didn’t often trailblaze—optimisation took precedence.
From a tech perspective, Gen Z and Gen Alpha are incredibly digitally savvy, having grown up with the internet as a constant in their lives. Their consumer habits are value-driven, unpredictable, and sometimes paradoxical, but their desire for authenticity and community unites them. While big tech companies have tried to break into social commerce (Who remembers Amazon’s iconic QVC copycat, Style Code Live?) by replicating what’s worked elsewhere, success in the real-time shopping space in the West has been elusive. The challenge lies in truly understanding how to cater to Gen Z and Alpha’s paradoxical consumption habits without compromising authenticity. These generations quickly see through anything that feels forced.
Tilt-ing the Playing Field
What I love about Tilt is that they threw out the script. Friends and colleagues have told me, “I don’t understand it,” and yet, within their first year, over half a million users were regularly engaged. One generation says, “I don’t get this,” while a younger one instinctively understands and embraces it. This generational divide is fascinating to watch—with popcorn in hand.
Tilt embodies the authentic cultural narrative of Gen Zalpha. They leverage data analytics and seller feedback to create an engaging experience that addresses common social commerce issues like digital switching, limited configuration (e.g., cross-selling, customisation hurdles), clunky onboarding, and smart SEO. What truly sets them apart, though, is the vision of co-founders Abhi Thanendran and Neil Shah . Abhi, a once globally ranked Call of Duty gamer, understands the “pillars of play”—characters, exploration, rewards, and social interaction—all of which translate seamlessly into commerce. Neil, an early Revolut hire, brings expertise in scaling, international expansion, innovation, and surprise-and-delight tactics, which he executes with the team extremely quickly.
Together, they’re building a platform that blends e-commerce, entertainment, and conscious consumption—putting money where it matters. Beyond the dynamic back-end, Tilt’s long-term vision reflects a deep understanding of “the culture” and creating for those who, as the kids say, are “the moment.”
Tilt’s Bold Move: A New Era of Commerce
In studying social commerce platforms over the last decade, what stands out about Tilt is their ability to respect the rules while breaking them. They have a localised identity that embraces niche cultural influencers, takes a playful, experimental approach to innovation, and honours the established big dogs while disrupting them. Their seller community thrives on respect, camaraderie, and a natural code of conduct. And with the features in their pipeline, Tilt is poised to be the entertainment platform to watch.
On an intellectual level, I’m thrilled to work with Tilt. They’re pushing the boundaries of commerce in a way that’s either offensive or inspiring—paradox at its finest. And I absolutely can’t wait.
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Sources:
Customer Support Team Leader | Helping professionals to reach their full potential and provide their best support to customers
2 个月Evolving online shopping! ??
Marketing and Community at Balderton Capital
2 个月Congratulations Laura McGinnis!
#makeanimpact
2 个月Laura McGinnis I'm working with schools worldwide how can we team up and make an impact? Keep up the great work ??
VC Growth Investor @Balderton Capital
2 个月?? ?? ??
Communications & PR for Venture Capital funds and their portfolio companies, especially in ClimateTech, GreenTech & Impact ??? | Berlin Ambassador at Top Tier Impact ??
2 个月Very cool! Congrats Laura McGinnis!