During and after lockdown, brands from Balenciaga to Vans have invested heavily in the metaverse. Even though some labels have found success in platforms like Roblox, for many of Gen Z, the metaverse just isn’t that exciting.

While around half of Gen Z respondents had created a virtual avatar (52 per cent), used an app filter (49 per cent) or made friends in a virtual game (44 per cent), when asked what would make brands seem “cool”, just 32 per cent of Gen Zs said presence in a virtual world like Roblox or Decentraland (versus 28 per cent of millennials). Also, only 16 per cent of Gen Zs believe that branded NFTs would make a brand seem more cool, compared with 28 per cent of millennials. When interviewed by Vogue Business, many of Archrival’s Gen Z community didn’t know much about the metaverse at all. And those who did were ambivalent.

“I’ve heard about the metaverse, the virtual world thing, on Facebook. It feels as if they’re pushing it on us,” says 22-year-old Amaria Vail, who took part in Archrival’s qualitative research. “But for now I’m not interested.”

If young consumers know they need to buy an item, whether it’s clothing, makeup or furniture, 40 per cent of Gen Zs look for reviews from online influencers (versus 31 per cent of millennials), per Archrival.

To tap into that, youth-focused DTC fashion and beauty brands like Djerf Avenue, Refy and Rhode use user-generated content (UGC) of customers wearing or showing how they apply products to inform young consumers about their brand. Luxury labels are less inclined to share UGC because they fear brand dilution.

Almost half of Gen Zs (48 per cent) also use Amazon as a tool to hunt down dupes (lower-priced products that look or function like the original). 48 per cent of Gen Zs and millennials compare prices on Amazon if they know they need to buy something, per Archrival.

During the research phase, Gen Zs often collage images of products they want, either in wishlists online, Pinterest mood boards or even folders of screenshots in their phones, to save for later. “When I see [fashion or beauty] I like, I normally take a screenshot that has the influencer’s username in it so that I can go back to it if I need it,” says Emma Wolan, a 20-year-old student at the University of South Virginia, who regularly shops for fashion and gains inspiration mainly from TikTok. “I have a folder in my camera roll that’s just things that I want.”

What’s often overlooked is that Gen Z is also still very much driven by price, Hawkins says. “Because they’re price-conscious and value-driven, tangible rewards, discounts and exclusive access via loyalty programmes are all pretty effective.” That’s why in the research phase, before purchasing a product, popular actions among Gen Zs surveyed by Archrival include comparing prices on Amazon and looking for sales or special offers.

Gen Z is the loneliest generation, according to the Cigna US Loneliness Index. Insights platform GWI also found that almost a third (29 per cent) of Gen Zs say they are prone to anxiety. In spite of this, the connection brands provide can help young consumers feel a sense of belonging.

LA-based brand Madhappy is both a clothing brand and a wellness community providing mental health support and resources, as well as community events alongside selling hoodies and T-shirts.

“Our hope has always been to create a brand that goes deeper than something transactional. We believe that the beauty of Madhappy is the ideology, the embrace of a shared perspective and a way of looking at the world,” says founder Peiman Raf. “Tactically, we’ve accomplished this through our physical retail spaces and events — creating programming and ways to engage with the brand. Since the beginning of our retail presence up to now at our first flagship, we’ve always found it important to dedicate space to the ethos of the brand.”

At Madhappy West Hollywood, for example, the brand introduced a “Local Optimist Space” — named after its bi-annual periodical Local Optimist — as a multimedia room featuring work from a rotation of artists who would design an ethereal, audiovisual experience for individual viewers. “It’s a great example of the value we see in creating a world, rather than solely creating products,” Raf says.

Represent also hosted a Rep Talk day in Manchester last year, bringing more than 50 of its most-engaged customers to a Q&A session with George, Michael, James Gullick (chief product officer), and Stefan Lewis (chief digital officer). “We wanted to give them further insight into the brand’s future, and understand their feedback on product areas. It was very insightful to both sides,” says George. Represent’s activewear line 247 aligns itself with the functional fitness community, with the founders, employees and fans of the brand participating in events such as Hyrox and ultra marathons, inviting the community to take part with them. 247 even has its own app, where the community can access co-founder George’s daily workout routines.

Gen Z may be one of the most-informed generations, but they’re also one of the least committal, according to Harms at Archrival.

To earn Gen Z’s elusive loyalty, brands need to keep consumers engaged for the long haul — and that means creating a whole universe of touchpoints for them to traverse and explore, beyond simple transactions. Brands that are successful in building loyalty know that the post-purchase journey is not actually just about the product.

The Frankie Shop is an affordable luxury label that’s played into UGC via celebrating customers post-purchase. The brand’s Instagram and TikTok accounts feature regular customers styling and wearing its cult tailoring and separates. While The Frankie Shop’s consumer base is predominantly millennial, the brand is building Gen Z users via UGC on TikTok.

“We dress people with real lives, real jobs and real problems, so sharing how our consumers wear our pieces is the best possible way to inspire others to try these outfit formulas,” says the Frankie Shop founder, Gaëlle Drevet. “Seeing Frankie Shop pieces on real-life people helps our customers envision themselves in these designs, knowing that they are not just for the runway but practical and elevated choices for every day.” Similarly, influencer label Djerf Avenue also reshares customers wearing its tailoring and separates, naming them the #djerfavenueangels.

Beauty brand Refy was launched by influencer Jess Hunt three years ago. Unlike makeup-artist-led beauty brands or megabrands, Refy prioritised nano and micro-influencers on its social feeds, resharing all different types of women using their products.

“Our products are all high-performance and they have very innovative formulas and applicators, so educating with tutorial style content is essential to make sure the audience knows how to use the product properly to get the best results,” says CEO Jenna Meek.

To respond to the growing importance of UGC, TikTok launched “Branded Mission” last year, meaning that brands can approach users with over 1,000 followers to participate in a challenge, and on the back end it can access all the UGC in one place to easily reshare. Asos used this technology during Halloween 2023 on a spooky outfit challenge. “The user benefits because they go viral on the platform via the brand’s page and the brand wins because they’ve got an amazing creator or something that feels so authentic building that content,” she says.

“Loyalty is the essence of why we’ve been able to grow quickly over a short period of time,” says Madhappy’s Raf. “I think it’s about a mutual relationship between the brand and its community.”