TrustRadius has produced a new report analyzing the emergence of Gen Z software buyers and how their preferences differ from previous generations.
The report, From Boomers to Zoomers: Gen Z Enters the Software Buying Process, details who Gen Z software buyers are, the role of AI’s rapid expansion, Gen Z’s reliance on social proof, and the increasing importance of understanding this generation’s mindset while capturing their attention.
With Gen Zs e the youngest generation currently in the workforce, the survey data showed a string link between Gen Z and AI. TrustRadius research revealed 15% of Gen Z buyers report using AI a lot (double the amount of all surveyed buyers) and 30% “always” or “very often” trust AI-generated content, compared to 20% of all surveyed buyers.
Changing Buyer Market
Allyson Havener, VP of Corporate and Customer Marketing at TrustRadius, said the data makes sense considering their tech-centered upbringing, and bolsters the idea that Gen Z has spent their lives learning new technologies, which now extends to their professional careers.
“The rapid ascent of Gen Z represents a significant moment of change in the market, as they’ve already surpassed boomers to become the third-largest generation in the workforce,” said Havener.
Gen Z’s Unique Preferences
Gen Z views software buying as a riskier prospect than other generations due to the potential negative career consequences of making the wrong recommendation. As a result, the trust gap is noticeably wider. While 83% of Gen Z buyers looked at user reviews, 57% of Gen Z buyers speak with someone who uses (or used) the product, compared with 28% talk to a vendor-supplied reference.
Besides vendor-supplied references, where do buyers find users to talk to? Based on TrustRadius’ research, the majority of these conversations likely take place in communities and untraceable sources such as emails and text messages; messaging platforms like Slack or Teams; LinkedIn InMails; and online forums such as Reddit.
For tech sellers and B2B marketers, the authors of the report believe it is paramount to make an impression on this rising generation of buyers by ensuring social proof is easy to find, ROI calculations are effortless, and spelling out why endorsing a product will boost their reputation.
Generational Shifts
Due to more limited prior experience, Gen Z buyers often look to other factors for confidence in their purchase as 24%, are less likely to rely on previous relationships with vendors, compared to 31% of all buyers.
This younger cohort prioritizes obtaining the best price (69%); confidence from customer reviews (35%); and the product being the safest, most trusted option (34%). Asked if they could change anything about the buying process, 37% of Gen Z buyer respondents wished for easier ROI calculations, four percentage points higher than the general sample.
Other notable differences emerged in the data, including:
- 39% of Gen Z are uneasy about vendors contacting them before they’re ready to talk, compared to 44% of all buyers;
- 24% of Gen Z are interested in organizing and tracking their research, in contrast to 18% of the general sample; and
- 90% of buyers said they clicked through to sources from AI summaries.
TrustRadius’ Havener urged B2B tech sellers to “utilize these fresh insights to reach this rising and influential group of buyers.”
