Gen Zers are putting their careers and financial health above family, community, and love, according to a recent NBC poll. These results give financial institutions perspective around these younger consumers’ primary goals. They also highlight the importance of assessing and understanding the needs of individual customers. Some Gen Zers have already bought homes and started families but likely want to further improve their financial health and status. This points to the importance of life-stages banking, including personalizing recommendations for each individual customer. Most Gen Zers want products that help them set money aside and make it work harder for them.
According to a recent Bank of America survey and a KNPX News report, 55% of Gen Zers have more than one source of income. Products like side-hustle savings accounts help track multiple income sources, automate tax withholdings, and separate business expenses from personal finances. Banks must move away from the traditional model built around a single, consistent paycheck. This means offering flexible products that adapt to fluctuating incomes as well as considering customers’ overall financial health—including side-hustle income—when making lending decisions.
Junior ad jobs are gradually disappearing as the industry faces upheaval. While overall ad jobs ticked up slightly earlier this year, employment is still trending downward—and younger workers are taking the brunt. Without a pipeline of entry-level talent, agencies risk eroding their long-term relevance.
Advertisers are missing opportunities to capitalize on strong connected TV (CTV) engagement from diverse audiences, per LG Ad Solutions’ “The Inclusive Screen 2025” series. Targeting ads to diverse audiences stands to benefit brands by tapping into consumers who are likely to take action when they feel represented—but a tailored strategy over a one-size-fits-all approach is critical.
The news: US consumers overall will slash their holiday spending about 5% this year, while Gen Zers expect to cut it 23%, per Inkl. Our take: We’ve seen this trend among Gen Zers in other areas of spending—such as prioritizing vacations over saving—meaning their habits are consistent. In preparation for the upcoming holiday season, financial institutions (FIs) can tap into this to demonstrate a deeper level of understanding of their Gen Z clientele. Last year we suggested marketing holiday budgeting tools. While that still holds, FIs should also customize the language of these tools to match customers’ actual goals. For example, instead of language about saving for the future, offer savings toward a goal that Gen Zers input themselves, such as a concert or vacation.
The news: Roblox will expand its age-checking procedures to all users by the end of the year, per a press release, building on its efforts to protect children online. Users will need to verify their age to access many features—including Party Voice and chat without filters—by submitting either a selfie or government-issued ID. Roblox will then analyze the selfie’s facial features to estimate the user’s age. The platform is rolling out new systems that limit communication between adults and minors unless they already know each other in real life. Our take: Roblox’s stricter age-verification policies stress the growing need to balance reach, compliance, and trust on youth-focused platforms. Marketers should prepare for smaller, more segmented audiences as age checks filter out unverified users and privacy-conscious adults. Long-term success may depend on building campaigns rooted in creativity and authentic value over hypertargeting.
The forecasts: The holiday season may bring more gloom than cheer for retailers as consumers tighten spending amid economic uncertainty. Average per-person spend during the season is projected to fall 5.3% YoY to $1,552, PwC reports. That’s the first significant drop since the 2020 pandemic. Gen Z is leading the pullback, with their holiday budgets set to plunge 22.5% after soaring 37.4% in last year’s survey (their actual spending rose just 6%, per PwC’s card data). That reversal reflects the mounting pressure they face from a stagnant job market, rising fixed costs, and thin savings. One in 4 (25%) Gen Zers now say their finances are worse than a year ago, up from 17% in 2024. Tariffs may be amplifying the pullback. A July CivicScience survey found 54% of consumers under 30—along with 47% of all gift buyers—plan to buy fewer or cheaper gifts due to tariff concerns. While our forecast is somewhat brighter—we expect sales in November and December to grow 1.2% YoY—even that would mark the weakest holiday sales gain since we began tracking the metric in 2009. Our take: Retailers should meet consumers where they are this holiday season by offering budget-friendly choices such as smaller sizes, bundles, and gift sets, while also using loyalty programs to push their best customers to spend.
LinkedIn is urging B2B marketers to embrace unscripted, authentic video after seeing strong engagement growth on the platform. CMO Jessica Jensen told EMARKETER that “real humans talking like real humans” resonates far more than polished assets, encouraging executives to share candid updates and even humor in their posts. The push reflects broader demand: 52% of US B2B marketers used video in 2024, while Millennials and Gen Z—now 71% of B2B buyers—expect casual, social-style content in professional settings. With B2B video ad spend rising nearly 18% this year, LinkedIn is well positioned to capture that momentum.
A Precise TV study revealed key habits for younger Gen Z consumers ages 13 to 17—emphasizing that short-form and digital video are leading the way. YouTube Shorts and TikTok ads were major drivers of purchase decisions: 51% of Gen Z boys and 43% of girls made a purchase after watching YouTube Shorts ads, while 44% of boys and 41% of girls purchased after watching a TikTok ad. Gen Z’s digital buying power will only grow, and targeting younger Gen Z consumers will position brands for long-term growth—provided the right strategies are implemented.
Instagram launched a feature that allows college students to display their class schedule on their profiles in a bid to make inroads with young consumers—days after TikTok released a similar tool. By cherry picking successful formats on other social platforms like messaging, music sharing, stories, short-form video, and more, Instagram has established itself as a crucial social tool and entertainment platform for young users. Its college schedule launch could help cement influence with yet another generation of students.
Cracker Barrel has reversed a logo redesign just days after removing its “Old Timer” figure, Uncle Herschel, following backlash from customers, commentators, and investors. Criticism spiked when former President Donald Trump called the redesign a costly mistake but also “a billion dollars’ worth of free publicity.” Hours later, the company confirmed Herschel would remain the face of the chain. The reversal coincided with a 7% stock drop, underscoring how customer sentiment quickly impacts financials. Analysts note that tradition and heritage are powerful brand signals—removing them can sever ties with loyal customers while raising doubts about purpose and direction.
The news: Skylight is a new short-form video app like TikTok, but instead of using algorithms to decide what videos users see, it lets real people create and share their own video feeds, similar to Pinterest’s curation model. Built on Bluesky’s decentralized and open protocol, Skylight has clocked 240,000 downloads and 100,000 video uploads since April, per TechCrunch. Our take: Skylight’s reliance on creator-led feeds gives marketers a glimpse at what post-algorithm engagement could look like. But it remains to be seen if users take to an alternative way of consuming short-form video.
The finding: Growing savings is a top priority for 81% of Gen Zers and 79% of millennials, according to a new study by Santander Bank. Most in these cohorts have grown their savings since the beginning of 2024—but they did it the hard way. Our take: FIs have an opportunity and responsibility to educate younger customers in particular about products that earn higher interest rates. Banks also have potential growth opportunities if they successfully market their higher-interest-rate products to this audience—ensuring education is part of these campaigns. This presents an excellent opportunity to launch social media campaigns—especially through partnerships with influencers that customers’ trust most—highlighting these specific products. In addition, less overt marketing strategies, like social media content, can help build trust and brand recognition. We’ve compiled a guide for how to approach and evaluate these relationships.
Google is enhancing its retail ad offerings with loyalty-driven personalization tools aimed at retention. New features include personalized pricing and shipping perks for loyalty members, a “loyalty mode” in Google Ads’ retention goal to optimize for high-lifetime-value customers, and personalized annotations in Performance Max campaigns. Sephora, an early adopter, reported a 20% lift in click-through rates from loyalty-focused annotations. The launch comes as loyalty ranks high on shoppers’ holiday priorities and as CMOs lean on loyalty programs to bolster first-party data. With Amazon pulling away from Google, the updates position Ads as a retention engine in the retail fight.
The news: Google Translate is taking on Duolingo with a slate of new features, including a focus on gamification. An app update includes customizable language lessons based on skill level and is currently available for English, Spanish, and French learners. The lessons track users’ daily progress, similar to Duolingo’s popular “streaks” feature, and can create practice scenarios based on user prompts. Our take: Gamification and interactive features can boost engagement, but AI tools aren’t free to operate. Google may swallow Gemini’s translation costs to keep the service free, a perk that Big Tech’s deep pockets can easily handle and that Duolingo might have a difficult time matching.
The news: Meta’s new auto-translation feature for Reels could simplify global content sharing. The AI-powered translation tool can automatically dub and lip-sync Reels on Instagram and Facebook into other languages, including English, Spanish, and Portuguese. It’s available to Facebook creators with at least 1,000 followers and to all public Instagram accounts. Our take: Creators and brands should lean into short-form multilingual content to maximize audience reach and watch for engagement spikes in views in unexpected regions to identify new markets and audiences worth targeting.
The news: Child safety concerns are mounting as several platforms face heightened scrutiny over lacking moderation capabilities. Google settled a lawsuit on Tuesday over claims that it violated children’s privacy through YouTube by collecting personal data for targeted ads without parental consent, though the company denied wrongdoing in its decision to settle. Our take: Heightened scrutiny over where advertisers spend and what they promote is a must-have amid current concerns over child safety online, and brands must practice caution when implementing strategies that could be perceived as targeting minors.
The news: TikTok is experiencing massive growth among older generations, with adoption for users 45+ growing 1,200% between 2019 and 2025, per CivicScience—suggesting its stickiness across demographics and emphasizing older consumers’ buying power. Our take: A successful social advertising strategy will strike a balance: Valuing younger demographics for their growing influence while accounting for the enduring importance of older generations for driving digital purchases as social media adoption skyrockets.