DEMOGRAPHICS

Three ways Gen-Z is empowering and growing a digital economy

By our News Team | 2021

Oxford Economics and Snapchat explore the role of Gen Z in driving the digital economy, plus its impact on the marketing industry.

Gen Z (birth years mid-to-late 1990s to early 2010s) is the first generation to have grown up with technology. Snapchat’s latest report with global forecasting and quantitative analysis consultancy, Oxford Economics, reveals optimism that Gen Z has the natural ability to make the most of the growing demand for digital skills in a post-pandemic economy.

Among the key pieces of information in the report are:

  • Gen Z will support US$3.1-trillion of spending by 2030 across six key markets studied: Australia, France, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the US.
  • The global Augmented Reality (AR) market is projected to expand four-fold by 2023.

  •  Technology and Covid-19 are set to transform skills demand, with the majority of jobs to require advanced digital skills.

A greater emphasis for the future workforce will be put on skills such as agility, curiosity, creativity, critical thinking and problem solving – playing into Gen Z’s natural strengths.

A powerful source of consumer spending

Gen Z’s consumer spending will increase more than six-fold, from US$467-billion in 2019 to US$3-trillion in 2030, equivalent to 11% of total household spending. Further, Gen Z’s share of total employment will rise noticeably from 10% in 2019 to 30% in 2030.

The research suggests Gen Z-ers are more creative compared to their older cohorts and curious to engage in forms of communication and content creation – including augmented reality (AR), emojis, lenses and filters.

Mirroring the growing importance of Gen Z is growth of the global AR market. Its revenue nearly quadrupled between 2018 and 2020. The next three years are expected to be marked by a similar trend, with estimates projecting a 10-fold increase by 2023 from 2018. 

This will fuel a significant demand in digital skills comparable to that seen in 2010, with the rise of social media platforms. 

And Gen Z is where these skills will be found.

Source: Social Media Week

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