NEW YORK – With all the media and marketing hype around Millennials, it could be easy to forget that fast on their heels is another increasingly important group: Gen Z, aged 18 and under, who make up nearly 26% of the U.S. population. Up to now, many have dismissed them as too young to focus on, but the fact is, they have their own money to spend and they also heavily influence the households they live in. (For more on this increasingly important demographic, read “Courting Gen Z” in NACS Magazine.)

It would be a mistake to think that members of Gen Z are simply younger versions of Millennials. They actually go out of their way to behave differently from Millennials, well aware of their predecessors’ negative stereotypes. Moving away from the over-sharing trends of Millennials, Gen Z retreats to private messaging. Having grown up in the recession, they’re more mature, financially aware and future-focused, while also entrepreneurial. They place great importance on education and personal learning, and feel a freedom to connect and develop their own beliefs. As a result, they expect open dialogue, transparency and honesty.

The big question is, how can brands and retailers reach Gen Z? According to a recent Media Post article, the key will be providing engaging and beneficial experiences that demonstrate their worth.

• Privacy is critical – Gen Z doesn't want to connect with everyone, they want to be themselves. To reach them, brands need to embrace niche trends or demonstrate uncompromising standards.
• Simple and visual – Skillful curators, Gen Z filters out everything but the essential to make enormous amounts of information more manageable: visual content is the best way to reach them.
• Be a “participation brand” – Experts in brand creation, Gen Z has been carefully cultivating their own brand culture for years, understanding how to communicate their values and beliefs to their peers. They expect brands to do the same, so ensure that your brand offers up a vision they want to be part of, one that unites them.
• Provide opportunity – Entrepreneurial in spirit, Gen Z flocks to brands that give them the opportunity to build expertise. Wise brands will lay themselves open, teaching Gen Z how to run a business and help them obtain relevant experience or knowledge to capture their curious and driven minds.