Millennials are all grown up now: Witness the rise of Gen Z

A couple of weeks ago I read an article on LinkedIn, by a senior executive, in which she wrote “Millennials are coming of age.” Actually, the oldest Millennials are 41, which means many are, in fact, approaching middle age. It’s Generation Z who’s coming of age and I’m fascinated by the degree to which they are doing so stealthily because executives apparently can’t quit Gen Y. My theory is the #RiseofGenZ is going to hit corporations hard, possibly when it’s too late.

Because here’s the thing: Generation Z, even though they’re often called “post-Millennials,” are not Millennials 2.0. In fact, virtually everything about them is opposite. After two decades of researchers, marketers, and corporations being obsessed with Millennials -- and tailoring their products to them –there is a 5-10 year window to build ecosystems capable of handling the digital demands of this very different audience, and I wonder who will be able to pivot. As evidenced by my horrendous digital experience at Costco last year even the most stalwart brands are struggling to get this right. Apologies to my regular readers for a quick review of these stats:

• Born 1997 to 2011 the oldest of them are 21.
• According to Bloomberg, by 2019, they will comprise 32% of the global population of 7.7BN, which means there will be 2.3BN of them to appeal to.
• They have between $143-660BN in buying influence (annually).
• They spend almost eight hours a day online and use at least three devices.
• Because they grew up during the Great Recession, their habits toward money is conservative; they are debt averse and want to save.
• Generation Z – not Y – are the first-ever cohort whose principal haptic memory is of the Smartphone, which we all know was introduced in 2007. They expect to do everything on their phone (actually most consumers do) -- doesn't mean they don't want human interaction (because they do) but frictionless mobile experiences are essential.

I was recently asked what I think corporate executives should do about the rise of Gen Z, like, right now. Here’s my suggestion:

1.    Recognize they exist. This sounds facetious but it’s not. A good percentage of people in power are back at the ranch still infantilizing Millennials -- let alone cognizant that an entirely new cohort has already started to graduate from college.

2.    Understand they are very different from previous generations. Besides their technology habits (which are intense!), they actually resemble Boomers more than Gen X or Y. Unlike Gen Y, Gen Z wants to be involved in solutions; they expect to be spoken to rather than at. A failure to recognize this will pose issues for whatever products you intend to market to them.

3.    Don’t ignore them because you think time is on your side. The Great Recession was a decade ago. For most of us, it feels like yesterday. Time passes quickly and in large companies where standing up a single project can take twelve months, believe me when I say you should be ensuring all of your most profitable products are supported by ecosystems capable of handling seamless omni-channel experiences.

4.    Face the fact their intense demands of technology will only accelerate/steepen. What’s more, as evidenced by the fact that it was Gen Z who got their grandparents hooked on FaceTime, they are setting standards your current customers already expect. Amazon's relentless focus on innovation proves Jeff Bezos gets that consumer preferences are always evolving.

Buffalo Wild Wings has been inching toward irrelevance for some time now, reporting a 5.2% drop in same store sales just this past quarter. They blame a lack of interest by Gen Y. I happen to think it's a poster child for what happens when your C-suite isn't paying attention to the right things: No question the problem is they haven't appealed to Gen Z, whose Gen X parents and Boomer grandparents spend money where they tell them to. It’s a concept restaurant for goodness sake, which means it's the kind of brand perfect for capturing imaginations while minds are impressionable. (And despite corporate America’s stubborn refusal to accept it, Millennials aren’t young anymore!)

Inc. Magazine says Gen Z is shaping up to be the most influential generation in recent history. They are fully one-third of the population. Do you know what they do and don't like? What do you know about their values? With $30 trillion in assets changing hands in the next ten years, it seems fairly important that you're taking steps now to ensure you're not the next Buffalo Wings.

Note: Views are my own, not my employers.