Latest Gen Z Spend Trend: Trading Down To Glow Up

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A new consumer survey finds that a majority of 15-to 30-year-olds — Gen Zers — are evolving into pragmatic, frugal shoppers who trade down to store brands for everyday essentials so they can afford to splurge on looking and feeling good.

That is promising news for brands in wellness, apparel, and beauty that appeal to Gen Zers.

Six out of 10 respondents in the First Insight study said they are willing to pay a premium when it comes to spending on personal style and health — in current parlance, “glowing up.”

Categories range from cosmetics and skin care to gym memberships and mindfulness apps.

For legacy names in consumer packaged goods (CPG), the survey confirms that those 70 million or so Americans (about 2 billion people globally) have become a marketing jigsaw puzzle that many companies are struggling to solve. As Gen Z approaches its peak spending years, brands are discovering that the attention of young consumers is becoming hard to win and even harder to keep.

“The age of lifelong brand devotion is over,” according to a report last year by SAP, a global provider of enterprise software. For the past five years, the company has been surveying shoppers in the UK and reporting a “Customer Loyalty Index.”

In its 2025 report, SAP describes Gen Z as “trend loyal,” which it defines as “an emotionally charged, fast-moving allegiance driven by viral moments rather than long-term trust.” SAP found that 41% of Gen Zers said they are more likely to trust a product if it goes viral, and 43% had bought a product “purely because it was trending on social media.”

How to turn prosaic products into a viral moment? According to Packaging Digest, an online industry news site, one way marquee brands are doing it is by reviving vintage designs.

Chips Ahoy!, a popular Mondelēz International brand that has been around since the 1960s, ran a promotion last fall that used a package design from the 1980s in connection with the drop of the latest Stranger Things release on Netflix. The company also released a Stranger Things Limited-Edition Cookie featuring chocolate chips that were dyed red.

Burger chain Wendy’s recently went back to the 1990’s for a packaging and signage do-over that emphasized the bright yellow it used during that period. The new look went viral, eliciting nostalgic comments on Reddit and TikTok: “Like having a hug from gramma.”

According to Resource Label Group, a Tennessee-based maker of pressure-sensitive labels, “Across nearly every consumer category, the resurgence of retro is a powerful trend that is reshaping how brands design their packaging.”

In the short term, however, marketing gymnastics like packaging and tie-ins will not solve the biggest challenge facing heritage brands in the packaged goods sector. According to a recent survey by RetailNext, which provides metric tools for physical stores, top of mind for consumers this year is price, a playing field where store brands continue to gain share.