Gen-Z takes centre stage as firms move away from millennials

As millennials get older, companies are turning their attention towards Gen-Z, those aged 15-27, an age group that is bending the rules of social-media engagement, reshaping how they show up at work and exhibiting unique values around family ties and sexual identity

- Suneera Tandon

India has an estimated 116 million Gen-Z consumers. In fact, two out of five urban Indian consumers aged between 15 and 55 years are Gen-Z. Gen-Z consumers, who are digital natives, are experiencing a youth that is "significantly" different from what any previous generation has experienced in India so far, marketers and researchers said during a webinar on Gen-Z on Wednesday.

"The generation has a high dependency on mobile and internet, which plays a key role in their social interactions. This strong and differentiated influence of social media is visible in this generation. The role of the internet has also moved up the funnel and is influencing Gen-Z consumers at a very early stage in their path. As a result, they are more likely to search online for products," Aditya Kaul, group account director at Kantar, said during the Market Research Society of India's (MRSI) webinar on the rise of Gen-Z in India.

Gen-Zers are defined as those born between 1996 and 2009. Gen-Z is currently the second-youngest generation, preceded by millennials before and succeeded by Generation Alpha.