Singapore – Singaporean Gen Z consumers are now expecting that their favorite brands to be more responsible and transparent in their business strategies in an age where fake news and information is rampant, new study from consumer communications agency DeVries Global shows.
According to the study, a whopping 96% of respondents indicated that they “are willing to pay a premium for brands they deem transparent”, which best reflects the fact that the digitally native generation has a growing appetite for authenticity and honesty among brands.
Despite the evident doubts raised among Gen Zs, 57.8% of the respondents said that they are bothered to filter out what is true or not on what they see online, and only 10.8% of the respondents said that they are ‘pros’ at filtering false information.
Furthermore, the report also revealed a surprising finding that while Gen Z has a global reputation of being possibly the most environmentally conscious generation, it seems that only 7% of Singaporean Gen Zs see environmental impact as an essential factor when making a purchase decision, as compared to other considerations like reviews and price.
Singaporean Gen Zs have a higher tendency as well to be willing to boycott the brand over several negative factors, with unethical corporate practices (55%), false advertising (44%), animal testing of products (41%), negative personal experience (33%), lack of transparency (13%) and negative impact on the environment (12%) being the well-known factors Gen Z consumers will frown upon.
“A generation unafraid to speak out and rally for causes they believe in, the study also reveals that Gen Zs do not hesitate to boycott brands over unethical business practices, false advertising and more. It is time for brands to do an internal check-in for hypocrisy before they speak out on issues or make big claims. Otherwise, they run the risk of getting cancelled by the razor-sharp Gen Z,” the company said in a press statement.
The study also noted that the current generation has also a greater inclination to check reviews before buying products online, with 77% of the respondents saying so. Other purchasing factors that influence Gen Zs include price (55%), brand reputation (39%) and recommendation from friends and family (38%).
For Li Ting Ng, director of innovation and client experience at DeVries Global Singapore, transparency has become the norm among Gen Z consumers, and are questioning brands that are jumping on conveying transparency in their marketing, despite doubts of making change in their business strategies.
“This is a smart and informed generation that values and demands transparency but understands that businesses aren’t perfect. The challenge then is to figure out what transparency means to your business and how you can commit and communicate it in a way that builds trust and credibility. Not transparency for the sake of it,” Ng stated.
Meanwhile, Rafidah Rashid, managing director at DeVries Global Singapore, commented, “The Gen Zs are at the very forefront of culture, and there is no better time than now for brands to get a head start by getting ahead of what matters to them.”
