Gen Z Will Control $12 Trillion in Spending by 2030. Here's How They Buy.

Quick Facts

Gen Z global spending is projected to reach $12 trillion by 2030, up from $2.7 trillion in 2024.
68% of Gen Z discovered new products on social media in 2024, and nearly 60% completed a purchase directly after.
73% of Gen Z shop in-person at least once a week, outpacing Baby Boomers at 65%.

Gen Z is not a niche audience anymore. With projected global spending of $12 trillion by 2030, this generation is becoming one of the most consequential consumer groups in history. Brands that misread how they shop will pay for it.

The defining tension for Gen Z buyers is financial. They are spending nearly twice what they hold in savings, squeezed by high living costs. Yet that pressure has not suppressed their appetite. It has sharpened their standards.

Social Media Is the Storefront

In 2024, 68% of Gen Z consumers discovered new products on social media, up from 60% the year before. Nearly 60% went on to make a purchase, almost double the prior year’s rate. More than 53% placed orders directly through a social platform.

TikTok leads. Seventy-seven percent of Gen Z use it for product discovery, and 55% have bought something inside the app. The platform’s algorithm blends entertainment with shoppable content in a way no other channel has replicated at scale.

Short-form video drives decisions. Nearly 46% of Gen Z shoppers call formats like TikTok videos, Reels, and YouTube Shorts the most influential factor in a purchase. Review videos pushed more than half of Gen Z to buy in 2024. But these shoppers do not take creator recommendations at face value. They cross-reference multiple reviewers before converting, which means credibility matters as much as reach.

Livestream shopping is growing fast. By 2025, more than half of marketers named livestreaming a leading component of their influencer campaign strategy, primarily through TikTok Live and Instagram Live.

They Still Shop in Stores

The digital-native label does not tell the full story. Seventy-three percent of Gen Z shop in-person at least once a week. That is eight points higher than Baby Boomers. Nearly half of total Gen Z spending flows through in-store mass merchandise and grocery purchases.

PwC’s 2025 Holiday Outlook found a 10-point jump in Gen Z consumers planning to shop in-store more often, rising from 27% in 2024 to 37%. Their top reasons: touching and seeing products before buying, experiencing store atmosphere, and chasing promotions.

A 2025 Lightspeed Commerce holiday study found that 8 in 10 consumers aged 18 to 24 said the in-store experience mattered to them. Sixty-seven percent said they would spend more time at a store or mall if the music, decor, or scents matched a seasonal vibe. Physical retail is not dead for this group. It is a content set and a sensory event.

Identity Shapes the Cart

Gen Z does not shop by impulse. They shop by identity. Fashion, in particular, functions as social currency. Nearly one-third of Gen Z say they want to dress more creatively, and many are actively seeking a defining aesthetic they can own consistently, according to Instagram research.

The hashtag #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt illustrates how product discovery becomes personal expression. Users do not just share purchases. They signal who they are through what they buy.

Values Influence the Shortlist

Three-quarters of Gen Z say sustainability matters more to them than brand name when choosing what to buy. Around 64% say they are willing to pay more for environmentally sustainable products, even while managing tight budgets.

For brands, this creates a real constraint. A Gen Z shopper may want your product, find it on TikTok, verify it through three review videos, check for a sustainability credential, and then walk into a store to touch it before buying. Every step in that chain is a place to lose them.

Brands that optimize for only one channel or one message will miss. The Gen Z path to purchase is nonlinear, identity-driven, and unforgiving of inauthenticity.