Signal Gen Z brand discovery: 23% via social media, below 28% via physical stores

Summary

McKinsey finds that social media has become a major route by which Gen Z discovers new brands. Asked where they first came across a new brand, 23 percent of Gen Z pointed to social media, compared with only 7 percent of baby boomers. For Gen Z, that is still below the 28 percent who first encountered a brand in a physical store, but above the 18 percent who learned of it from friends and family. Boomers, by contrast, continue to rely mainly on stores. Social media's role grows further at the purchase stage, where it is the channel Gen Z cites most, which suggests that discovery and decision are increasingly shaped online for younger consumers.