Gen Z and Millennials come out of pandemic as spendthrifts

Even with less savings in their accounts than older Americans, younger consumers are the ones who’ll be contributing to a big part of the market spending as the U.S. economy recovers.

Salakha Sharma
June 11, 2021
2 minutes

Wide availability of vaccines is causing consumers, especially younger ones, to leave the confines of their homes and come out to spend. A lot of money may have been saved by Boomers, but it is not being spent. Instead, it is the Millennials and Gen Zers who are opening up their wallets.

Following the lull the pandemic created, Millennials and Gen Z are spending 125% of what they spent pre-Covid in 2019 making them worthy of the title spendthrifts. Everyone’s repressed demands for travel and other goods and services were bound to explode in this manner. While this will help the US economy recover at the current rate, the repercussions can be different for the spenders.

The results

The psychological repercussions of Covid-19 are making young folks feel like they need to make up for the time they lost. According to a recent study by Pinterest, Gen Z has double the number of year-on-year searches (96% more) and 3% more searches per user now as compared to the pre-pandemic world.

The impulse

The study suggests that Gen Zers go by the “life is very short” ideology. Hence, they focus on doing everything they have not been able to do since the pandemic began. Pinterest activity shows that young people are actively seeking inspiration to plan future experiences. Meanwhile, do you know if your money is safe in banks during a pandemic?

Impulse vacation

Gen Zers have been searching for dream vacation destinations 13 times more than before. They’re also more frequently looking for luxury vacations, organizing bags and travel accessories. The study also revealed that people want to socialize more now.

Gen Zers are also on the lookout for innovative ways to celebrate special occasions with their friends, especially this holiday season. Moreover, people are also searching for ideas on how to dress for parties, dinners and bars. From these searches, it’s clear that Millennials and Gen Zers are looking to invest in exciting experiences and live their best life.

Conclusion

Although people have returned to the skies for personal domestic travel, frequent business trips still seem like a distant vision. According to reports, corporate travel isn’t likely to be restored to its pre-pandemic frequency until 2023.

For now, reports say businesses are benefiting from consumer spending on vacations and restaurant outings. However, it is clear that the future of Gen Z and Millennials continuing as spendthrifts after the pandemic is far from slowing down.

Salakha Sharma

Salakha is a content specialist with a mixed background in digital learning and digital media marketing. With over 7 years of industry experience under her belt, she authors content on a variety of topics including business, technology and finance. She swears by three things - coffee, the Oxford English Dictionary and simple content.

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