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Which retailers does Gen Z love?

The oldest members of the generation are now heading toward their mid-20s, and market research firm Morning Consult found some strong retail favorites among the demographic.

Heather Lalley, Managing editor

October 4, 2022

2 Min Read
Amazon
Photo: Shutterstock

Video-streaming platform YouTube is the most-popular brand among Gen Z adults, according to new data from market research firm Morning Consult. But the coveted demographic among marketers has some favorite retailers, too.

Topping the latest favorite-brands ranking among retailers is, perhaps unsurprisingly, Amazon, with 80.28% of Gen Z-ers surveyed reporting a “somewhat” or “very” favorable view of the brand. The Seattle-based retail giant came in at No. 4 behind YouTube, Google and Netflix.

At No. 6 on the list (just after M&Ms) is retail goliath Walmart, with 79.76% of Gen Z respondents rating it favorably.

Directly following Walmart among Gen Z is Target, with a (very close) 79.66% of respondents giving it a thumbs-up.

At No. 14, is Dollar General, favored by 77.42% of Gen Z respondents polled.

Amazon, Walmart, Target and Dollar General are the only food-related retailers to make Morning Consult’s ranking of Gen Z’s favorite brands, though the list also included a wide number of packaged foods, including Doritos (No. 8), KitKat (No. 9), Oreo (No. 10), Gatorade (No. 11), Cheetos (No. 13), Sprite (No. 15), Pringles (No. 16), CapriSun (No. 17), Skittles (No. 19), Chips Ahoy (No. 22), Twix (No. 24), Coca-Cola (No. 27), Cinnamon Toast Crunch (No. 30), Snickers (No. 33), Kool-Aid (No. 35), Reese’s (No. 39) and Lunchables (No. 40).

Food and beverage brands made up fully half of Gen Z’s favorites.

Gen Z is the generation born between 1997 and 2012, according to the Pew Research Center. They’re the group born just after millennials.

Major retailers Amazon, Walmart and Target all get favorable ratings from the general population but each scored “slightly higher” favorability ratings from Gen Z, Morning Consult said in its report.

It’s high praise as Gen Z is generally harder to please than other demographics. Across all tracked brands, Gen Z’s average favorability rating was just 27%, compared with 33% for all adults and 36% for millennials.

“Gen Z also demonstrates particularly high unfavorability ratings across the brands surveyed,” Morning Consult said. “On average, 10% of Gen Z adults have an unfavorable impression of a given brand, compared with 8% for all adults and 9% for millennials.”

Compared to the general population, Gen Z over-indexes in support of tech companies, including TikTok, Discord, Snapchat, Instagram and Cash App. DoorDash, which provides on-demand delivery of groceries, restaurant meals and more, ranked No. 11 on the list of standout brands, with an 18.73-point favorability difference between Gen Z’s favorability ranking and that of all U.S. adults.

Among Gen Z men, Walmart came in as the fifth-most popular brand (with a 78.32% favorability rating) and Amazon ranked No. 8, with a 77.88% favorability rating.

Among Gen Z women, Target ranked No. 4 with an 83.91% favorability rating, followed by Amazon at No. 7 and Walmart coming in 10th.

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About the Author

Heather Lalley

Managing editor

Heather Lalley is the managing editor of Restaurant Business, Foodservice Director and CSP Daily news. She previously served as editor in chief of Winsight Grocery Business.

Before joining Winsight and Informa, Heather spent nearly a decade as a reporter for the daily newspaper in Spokane, Washington. She is the author of "The Chicago Homegrown Cookbook." She holds a journalism degree from Northwestern University and is a graduate of the two-year baking and pastry program at Washburne Culinary Institute in Chicago.

She is the mother of two and rarely passes up a chance to eat tater tots.

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