Trustradius has produced a new report analyzing the emergence of Gen Z software buyers and how their preferences differ from previous generations.
Reports from Boomer to Zoomer: Gen Z details the software purchasing process, who Gen Z software buyers are, the role of the rapid expansion of AI, the reliance on social evidence for Gen Z, and the increasing importance of understanding this generation's thinking while attracting attention.
As Gen ZS E is currently the youngest in the workforce, the survey data showed a string link between Gen Z and AI. A Trustradius study revealed that 15% of Gen Z buyers reported using AI (twice as all buyers surveyed) and 30% trusted AI-generated content “always” or “very frequently”, whereas 20% of all buyers surveyed were recognized.
Changes in the buyer market
Allyson Havener, Vice President of Corporate and Customer Marketing at Trustradius, said the data makes sense in light of high-tech-centric development, reinforcing the idea that Gen Z was learning new technology.
“The rapid rise of Gen Z represents a moment of major change in the market as Boomers are already the third largest generation in the workforce,” Havener said.
General Z's unique preferences
Gen Z sees software purchases as a riskier outlook than other generations due to the potential negative career outcomes of making incorrect recommendations. As a result, the trust gap is significantly wider. While 83% of Gen Z buyers considered user reviews, 57% of Gen Z buyers talk to people who used (or used) the product, compared to 28% who spoke to references provided by the vendor.
In addition to the references provided by vendors, where do buyers talk to users? Based on Trustradius' research, most of these conversations can take place in communities and infeasible sources such as email and text messages. Messaging platforms such as Slack and teams. LinkedIn Inmails; Online forums such as Reddit.
For technology sellers and B2B marketers, the report authors believe that it is paramount to impress this rising buyer by spelling out why social proofs are easy to find, ROI calculations are easy to calculate, and why they support the product will boost their reputation.
Generation change
Because previous experience is more limited, Gen Z buyers are often less likely to rely on their previous relationship with vendors, compared to 31% of all buyers, as they are 24% to other factors due to their trust in their purchase.
This young cohort prioritizes obtaining the highest price (69%). Trusted from customer reviews (35%); and the product is the safest and most reliable option (34%). When asked if we could change anything about the purchasing process, 37% of Gen Z buyers respondents wanted a ROI calculation of 4 percentage points higher than the typical sample.
Other notable differences appeared in the data, including:
- 39% of Gen Z have concerns about contacting vendors when they are ready to talk, compared to 44% of all buyers.
- 24% of Gen Z are interested in organizing and following the study, in contrast to 18% of the typical sample. and
- 90% of buyers said they clicked on the source of their AI summary.
Trustradius 'Havener has urged B2B tech sellers to “take advantage of these fresh insights to reach this rising and influential group of buyers.”
