Gen Z is often known as a generation that tends to spend money tightly and is relatively frugal. But in fact, a recent study by Merge has shown that this generation’s spending is greatly influenced by entertainment events and festivals. These events can even disrupt Gen Z’s usual spending habits, prompting them to make much more generous purchasing decisions.
Event Marketing – The driving force behind Gen Z’s incredible spending
86% of Gen Z is overspending on events
In contrast to their usual tight spending habits, Gen Z tends to spend quite impulsively when approaching entertainment events. According to research by Merge Only 14% of the 1,000 Genz surveyed said they try to stick to their spending budget when attending events. Meanwhile, The remaining 86% said they were so attracted by the atmosphere of the events that they unconsciously overspent.
Gen Z also shared the reasons why they overspend during these events, including:
- Driven by incentives
- Be attracted to limited edition merchandise
- Driven by event experiences
- Convenience and easy access to products
- Emotions are pushed to a climax, especially the fomo psychology, which makes them tend to buy faster.
Brand Advertising at events has the potential to boost Gen Z’s purchasing demand immensely
From the factors that influence the advertising of brands at entertainment events and festivals, it is also possible to promote purchasing needs and greatly impact the psychology of Gen Z. More 50% of Gen Z shared that brand advertising at events has significantly influenced their purchasing behavior in the past year.This figure further confirms the role of events in helping brands reach consumers and increase Sales.
However, the level of impact after the event for each type of product is different. Among the products that have the most sales boost after Gen Z is exposed to events, there are: food and beverage (22%) and clothing and accessories (20%). In particular, Gen Zers who have a passion for brand collaborations are also more likely to attend food fairs and fashion events.
Items that Gen Z bought a lot during the event: Fashion, Sports & Entertainment
The report found that 96% of Gen Z event attendees shopped during the event. Food and beverage (41.3%) and apparel and accessories (33.7%) are the most purchased items for use at events, reinforcing the intersection of fashion, entertainment, and social experiences in Gen Z’s spending habits.
In particular, entertainment and unique experiences are likely to motivate consumers to spend more on fashion products. Nearly 70% of respondents said that when participating in fashion and beauty events, clothing and accessories are the main focus of their spending. In particular, Gen Z also shared that when participating in sporting events, they often have more needs and desires to buy clothes than when participating in events related to arts and culture. Shows The relationship between sports and fashion is very close, on Gen Z consumer spending.
Percentage of purchases of items for use in events
How Gen Z spends when attending events.
Allocate spending by event group
Nearly 40% of Gen Zers say they keep their annual event budget in the $500-$1,000 range. However, a small group of Gen Zers report spending more than $5,000 on events and related expenses in the past year. This suggests that Gen Z consumers’ event spending trends are likely to continue to increase in the coming years.
In particular, Gen Zers who spend more than $5,000 on events share that their preference for each type of event varies significantly, with them saying they are 27% more likely to attend film festivals, 20% more likely to attend fitness and wellness expos, and 29% more likely to attend fashion and beauty conferences.
This group is also the most likely to make a purchase after being exposed to a brand at an event. Notably, 41% of this group said they shopped to increase their Social Media presence. As such, a brand’s products need to meet this group’s desire to express themselves, while also being easy to share on social media, etc. to be able to conquer this narrow but opportunity-filled segment.
Men spend more emotionally than women.
Research has shown that nearly 1/3 of Gen Z men are prone to impulse buying and spend more than $1,000 per year on events, much higher than 21.8% of women. Men are especially fond of buying event-specific merchandise, and are heavily influenced by their idols, such as products to support their favorite sports teams. This group of consumers is especially fond of research channels, review videos, listening to podcasts, and following AR/VR technologies. These are also important points for brands to reach Gen Z male consumers during events.
While Gen Z women are also more likely to overspend, the biggest factor influencing them is fomo — fear of missing out. Nearly half of women said they would spend up to $500 a year, compared to 27.4% of Gen Z men.
Gen Z’s spending motivations change by age
Although they are both Gen Z, those born at the beginning and end of this generation have different reasons and motivations for spending when exposed to events. Gen Zers over 25 years old shared that the reason for exceeding their budget is the convenience and easy access to merchandise at the event. However, they are also hesitant to buy because of concerns about regret after purchase.
In contrast, the younger Generation Z group values diversity and inclusion more (18.4% vs. 11.9%). They are also more influenced by their peers and have a preference for exclusive, limited-edition products that are often sold at events. They also tend to buy more items at events, such as home products, handmade goods, sporting goods, pet supplies, outdoor and camping goods, arts and crafts, and more.
Gen Z’s Favorite Event Types
Sports & cultural events are the most popular event group
Although Gen Z participates in many different types of events. However, the most favorite group of events are events in the fields of sports, arts and culture. However, the level of love for events has a big difference between men and women. While the male consumer group loves sports, technology and gaming events. Meanwhile, women tend to favor cultural arts events, fashion, beauty and animal events.
Specifically, the gender differences of Gen Z in each type of event are as follows:
Top events favored by Gen Z
- In sporting events, men are more likely to participate in professional and extreme sports than women. For endurance events, marathons, fitness festivals, health fairs, elite and collegiate sporting events, outdoor exploration, etc., there is no significant difference between these two gender groups.
- In the arts and culture space, men tend to attend movie premieres, comic book conventions, and fan events, while women tend to attend art exhibitions. Additionally, older Gen Zers (over 25) are more likely to attend live performances, comic book conventions, and food fairs than younger generations.
- In the area of technology and innovation, Gen Z men are more likely to attend innovation programs. Older Gen Zers are also more likely to attend AI and automation exhibitions and Startup incubator events than younger people.
- Among fashion and beauty events, Gen Z is most fond of pop-up shops and meet-ups with Influencers in the fashion and beauty industry.
- In personal development events, men tend to attend sustainability conferences, community and social clean-up and restoration projects.
Events that Gen Z shops the most
96% of Gen Z event attendees have shopped for use at the following events:
- Cuisine
- Fashion
- Beauty care
- Sports products
- Gifts & Novelty Items
- Electronics & Gadgets
- Books & Media
- Handicraft materials
- Health & wellness products
- Toys & Games
This shows that Gen Z’s spending at events is relatively diverse and rich. Opening up attractive opportunities for many different industries to participate.
Top products rained for use in the most events of the year
Factors that promote and hinder Gen Z’s decision to attend events
Ticket price is the main factor that makes them abandon events
Although events have a significant impact on Gen Z’s spending, they are still a very pragmatic group of consumers when deciding whether or not to attend an event. The survey found that the biggest reasons Gen Z skips events are high ticket prices (49.4%) and inconvenient locations and times (38.6%).
In addition to the above factors, Gen Z’s decision to attend events is also influenced by a number of other external factors such as the event’s reputation and health and safety issues. However, there are also some internal factors from within themselves that can affect this decision, such as negative experiences with events they have had in the past.
Sustainability, though prominent, does not have much influence on Gen Z’s decisions
Another interesting insight is that the values of sustainability, inclusion, and diversity of events are often mentioned by Gen Z. However, these are not the factors that are prioritized when Gen Z chooses to attend an event. This shows that although they are only secondary conditions, they are considered after Gen Z satisfies material values.
Gen Z also shared that they feel negative towards brands that are not transparent, trend-driven, overly promotional, and inauthentic at events. This suggests that brands should look to create more authentic and personalized experiences for Gen Z at events, while considering the relevance of the event context to the brand story.
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