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Gen Z loves Walmart far more than Apple. Well, how about that?
I don't speak for my generation, so I'm reluctant to characterize any other generation.
If I think of Gen Z, for example, I stick to: "They're younger than me, dammit."
In any case, do different generations really have similar views about everything -- other than that older generations got it all wrong?
It's still fascinating, though, to read surveys that purport to describe a whole generation's feelings.
Here, then, is Morning Consult offering its new analysis after speaking to more than 2,000 Gen Zers -- analysis of their feelings about different brands, that is.
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Naturally, you might think, tech brands soar to the top and laugh at all of those below. Yet it isn't quite so simple.
The favorite brand of the young and restless is YouTube. It's followed by Google. Which only makes me consider my colleague David Gewirtz's devastating recent analysis of how these two brands completely, utterly, and uncontrollably dominate web traffic.
Also: Check out ZDNET on Youtube
It's surely the ultimate modern fantasy -- to be the total monarch and to be loved. So many politicians wish they could achieve this.
Yet while Amazon and Netflix ride very high in Gen Z's list of favorites, despite their respective woes -- one brand may surprise: Walmart.
This former dowdy, downtrodden brand has risen to a love-level far above the likes of Nike, KitKat, and even Doritos. At least for this particular generation, it seems.
Walmart is twelve places above Pixar and thirteen places above Skittles. And, perish my soul, fourteen places above Apple.
I sense you instantly insisting, oh Apple fanperson, that Apple's been around a long time. It's not quite what it used to be, despite the sheer glory of AirPods and the Apple Watch.
I'll mutter in return that Walmart has been around a longer time, and can you think of a sheer glory it's ever been responsible for? Other than a mastery of relatively inexpensive wares?
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Morning Consult offers something of a tangential hint. Half the brands that Gen Z loves best waft in the food and beverage arena.
And Gen Z is a generally quirky, young bunch. For example, its love for the likes of Discord, TikTok, Snapchat, Shein and, oh, Crocs, is far beyond that of millennials.
Then there's this. Apparently, Gen Z is harder to please. Says the research company: "Across all of the brands tracked in Brand Intelligence in the United States, Gen Z's average favorability rating is just 27%, compared with 33% for all adults and 36% for millennials."
Please don't despair, should you pine for the days when Apple was everyone's favorite, all the time. (Days that didn't really exist, but I respect all dreamers.)
Gen Z adores Apple Pay far more than the general population. US favorability is a mere 38.88%, whereas 58.95% of Gen Zers feel good about it.
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But wait, Walmart doesn't accept Apple Pay.
It's a strange world, isn't it?