Gen Z (typically defined as those born in the mid-1990s to early 2010s) is rapidly becoming one of the most powerful consumer forces. They now account for roughly 40% of global consumers and hold an estimated $140+ billion in spending power. With this rising influence, brands are scrambling to understand and connect with Gen Z. Conducting effective Gen Z market research is crucial for tapping into this generation’s preferences and behaviors.
This article provides insights and best practices for engaging young consumers in research studies, including tips on methodology and how to find top marketing research firms specializing in reaching Gen Zs.
It’s a mistake to view Gen Z as one monolithic group. The Gen Z cohort spans early teens to mid-20s, and there are significant differences in life stage even within this range.
For example, a 16-year-old high school student lives a very different reality than a 24-year-old college graduate starting their career. Even though they’re both “Gen Z,” their priorities, behaviors, and spending power diverge. Recognize which segment of Gen Z you need to reach — younger teens or older twenty-somethings — and tailor your research approach accordingly.
Successfully engaging Gen Z in research requires playing by their rules.
According to Jennifer Reid, our Co-CEO and Chief Methodologist at Rival Group, there are three core principles when dealing with young research participants today: transparency, authenticity, and trust.
These principles are interrelated – when you are transparent and authentic, you earn trust.
Transparency: Be clear about who you are, why you’re asking for feedback, and how the information will be used.
Authenticity: Don’t try to be something you’re not. This generation has a keen BS radar for anything that feels “fake” or overly corporate. Speak in a genuine voice that reflects your brand’s true identity. Avoid using slang or memes that aren’t true to your voice – you don’t have to mimic youth culture (inauthentic attempts often backfire).
Authenticity is so important to Gen Z that 82% of young consumers say they trust a company more if it uses real customers (not actors or stock images) in its marketing.
Trust: Transparency and authenticity together build trust – and without it, they won’t share meaningful feedback. Build trust by respecting their privacy and following through on promises.
Another key to engaging Gen Z is using the right tone and format. Traditional research surveys often come across as formal, stodgy, or even interrogative — all of which can turn off younger respondents.
Instead, aim for a conversational research design. In practice, this means your surveys or interview scripts should feel like a friendly chat with a person, not a rigid Q&A with a robot.
Use simple, straightforward language and a warm tone. It’s okay (even beneficial) to be a bit informal as long as you stay clear and respectful. (At Rival, we call this “chattifying” your surveys.) Avoid jargon or overly academic wording. For instance, ask "What made you decide to buy that product?" instead of a convoluted formal question.
When it’s appropriate for your brand, you can even use emojis and fun animated GIFs in your conversational survey.
The goal is to make participating in research feel easy and enjoyable, not like taking a test. Gen Z has grown up with interactive social media and casual texting as primary forms of communication. Your research invitations and questions should mirror that style. By keeping things conversational, you’ll likely see higher engagement and more authentic responses from Gen Z participants.
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Video is a powerful medium for connecting with Gen Z consumers in research. This generation came of age with YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok, and Instagram – visual content is practically their native language. In fact, research from Rival Technologies and Reach3 Insights found that 84.6% of Gen Zs use Instagram on a monthly basis and 76% use YouTube.
To make your research feel relevant and engaging, consider incorporating video in two ways:
First, use video to personalize your approach. For example, consider starting a survey with a brief video message from a real person on your team explaining the purpose. Seeing the researcher’s face and hearing them explain why they want feedback makes participants feel more connected and trusting.
If you have an insight community, adding videos from your execs or researchers can also make for compelling sharebacks.
Second, invite Gen Z participants to respond with video feedback. Giving an option for respondents to record video answers (instead of only typing) can yield deeper, more nuanced insights. Gen Z is generally comfortable creating videos — they’re used to video-centric platforms and communicating through selfies and clips.
In a research context, a video response lets them express their feelings and show context (like products in use or their environment) better than a text response might. Our research-on-research shows that when people respond via video, they share 7x more than they would via text.
Video can also greatly enhance your storytelling — your colleagues are more likely to respond to seeing Gen Z’s faces and hearing directly from them rather than a bunch of charts.
When researching Gen Z, the classic approach to surveys may need an overhaul. Long, exhaustive questionnaires (e.g. 20-minute surveys) are likely to flop with this crowd. Gen Z’s digital habits favor quick, snackable interactions. A better approach is to break research into shorter modules or micro-surveys. This approach aligns with Gen Z’s communication style and helps prevent survey fatigue.
You should also rethink the order of questions. Opening a survey with a barrage of personal demographics (age, income, etc.) can feel off-putting to younger respondents who are wary of sharing personal data online. It’s often wiser to begin with engaging questions on the topic at hand to build comfort.
Demographic details can be collected at the end, once you’ve established some rapport. By structuring surveys more thoughtfully and keeping them concise, you’ll improve completion rates and the quality of responses from Gen Zs.
This generation is mobile-first, so make sure all your surveys and market research activities are easy to use on a smartphone. A clunky desktop-oriented interface will lose their attention quickly.
Also, think beyond email for reaching participants. A Rival Technologies and Reach3 Insights study found that 67% of Gen Z “rarely” or “never” use email to talk to friends and family. In fact, 31% of Gen Z also claim that they have more than 1,000 unread emails.
While Gen Z teens and young adults are far less likely to check email daily, they’re very likely to be texting or using messaging apps, and social media. In a study from Mitto, more than two-thirds of Gen Z and Millennials said they favor getting brand communications via SMS over email. For a researcher, this means you’ll have better success recruiting and reminding Gen Z respondents through channels like text messages rather than traditional email invites.
31% of Gen Z also claim that they have more than 1,000 unread emails
Be ready to communicate on the platforms where Gen Z already hangs out. You might send a survey link via WhatsApp or an Instagram story — whatever channel makes sense for your target audience. Using a mobile-first market research platform, you’ll remove barriers to participation and show that your research fits naturally into their digital life.
If you want Gen Zs to engage authentically, it’s important to follow market research best practices. Here are some common mistakes we see when working with companies that use the Rival platform or build their insight communities with us:
Authenticity is important to Gen Zs. “Don’t try too hard or be too cute,” Dara St. Louis, EVP & Founding Partner at Reach3 Insights, said in a recent webinar on Gen Z research. Aim to be friendly without over-using Gen Z slang. If you’re not sure if you’re hitting the right tone, get a Gen Z researcher from your staff to review your conversational surveys and other research materials.
To say exactly how they feel, Gen Zs don’t necessarily need the researcher to be a Gen Z as well. So there’s no need to pretend if you’re not part of this generation. Just be upfront that you’re a researcher researching Gen Zs.
Don't be this guy. When researching Gen Zs, don't pretend to be one if you're not actually one!
As we mentioned already, email is not a big channel for Gen Zs. They have an email address (because they need it to sign up for services and log-in to different apps), but it’s not their number 1 mode of communication. Consider SMS surveys and other mobile-first approaches instead.
If you’re looking to reach Gen Z audiences for consumer insights, here are some things to look out for when talking to top market research companies or when checking out various market research directories:
Prioritize market research companies that use innovative, participant-friendly methods — for example mobile-first conversational surveys, video feedback, and other interactive and next-gen research methodologiess. If a company still relies mainly on long email surveys, they might not be the right fit for Gen Z insights.
A customer insights platform that has AI tools can also help you accelerate generating insights about Gen Zs.
Do some homework on the firm’s reputation. Ask for case studies. A top Gen Z market research company should be able to demonstrate success. Client testimonials or references can help verify that the firm knows how to connect with this demographic.
By embracing these approaches, you’ll be well on your way to generating authentic Gen Z insights that can inform your marketing and product decisions. Understanding and engaging Gen Z may take a new playbook, but the effort is well worth it.
Wondering why Rival Technologies and Reach3 Insights are two of the best Gen Z market research companies in insights today? Book a demo to see how our conversational research platform is well-suited to capture in-the-moment insights from modern consumers like Gen Zs.
For best practices on engaging with Gen Zs, check out our free guide, 7 Golden Rules to Getting Authentic Gen Z Insights.
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