People ages 45 and older are leading in mobile gamer growth

On today's episode, we discuss data’s role in customer experience (CX), how the pandemic changed the way companies approach customers, and how to measure CX ROI. We then talk about the best loyalty programs in the US, shifting to contactless payments, and whether Gen Z will recover from the pandemic-induced recession. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer principal analyst at Insider Intelligence Jeremy Goldman.

After the COVID-19 shock of H1 2020, everyday life in China has gradually returned to the pre-pandemic norm, and economic activities have been on the rebound.

China’s Gen Z is extremely online

Buy now, pay later solutions are quickly gaining adoption as consumers look for new financing options and merchants aim to drive sales. But the industry is still unsettled as a number of firms are battling to lead the space, while card networks and issuers are looking to get involved too.

eMarketer principal analysts at Insider Intelligence Mark Dolliver and Jeremy Goldman discuss SMS marketing, calculating the ROI of customer experience, why Gen Z doesn't matter that much and boomers matter more, and what to know about parents in 2021.

As Gen Z consumers enter the workforce and earn more disposable income, we expect this group to adopt new technology, including the most recent smart wearable devices.

The lockdown heightened consumers' awareness of brands that could meet their needs, particularly within digital channels. This had led to an increased degree of brand switching.

More than eight in 10 baby boomers worldwide said they are still willing to shop for food and beverages in-store despite the pandemic, according to July 2020 data from Braze.

eMarketer junior analyst Nina Goetzen and forecasting analyst at Insider Intelligence Peter Vahle discuss changing Spotify listening behavior and the company's podcast investments, and they break down how it makes money. Then principal analyst Mark Dolliver joins the show to talk about what young people want from brands, what retailers need to know about shoppers ages 50 and older and the many ways the pandemic is harming children's health.

Young consumers have led the way in terms of digital habits and consumption through the pandemic, but older age groups have been forced to catch up. Some old habits may die hard in these groups, but the digital future has definitely been hastened.

TikTok’s social commerce features are not as robust as Instagram's or Pinterest's, but the popular short-form video app has been slowly adding shopping ads while integrating creators along the way.

More than half of US adults ages 18 to 34 said they’re concerned about being able to pay their rent or mortgage in the next few months during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a recent survey from LeanIn.Org and SurveyMonkey. In contrast, fewer respondents (38%) ages 35 to 64 felt the same way, while 14% of those 65 and older agreed.

Instagram has been working on several initiatives to enable commerce directly within the app. Last year, it made big moves that bring creators closer to that process.

The media’s obsession with Gen Z and TikTok is ever-present, but whether or not penetration levels are as high as the frenzy would indicate is debatable. Three charts paint a clearer picture of what usage and popularity currently looks like among Gen Zers.

Digital installment plans are growing in popularity, particularly among more budget-conscious, younger consumers. In the past year, adoption of digital interest-free payment programs grew from 24% in Q1 2019 to 30% in Q3, per data from CivicScience.

Looking to reach college students during the back-to-school shopping season, grocery retailer Kroger turned to one of the marketing world’s buzziest new platforms: TikTok.

More women are turning to resale sites, including The RealReal and Poshmark, as they continue to compare deals and make more of an effort to spend less.

As with video viewing, digital technology has taken a large role in teens’ shopping without altogether replacing older methods. We estimate that 61.8% of 14- to 17-year-olds in the US will be digital buyers next year. Though substantial, that’s lower than the penetration rates of all other age groups younger than 65.