Marketing to Millennials and Gen Z: Understanding Multi-Generational Consumer Behavior

By 2025, Millennials will control $3.4 trillion in annual spending power, while Gen Z will account for nearly 40% of global consumers. Together, they’re shaping the most influential buying power in history. For marketers in all industries, including financial institutions, understanding these generations’ behaviors, motivations, and digital ecosystems is the key to success.

• Reject generational myths: Millennials and Gen Z are diverse, multifaceted, and driven by different values, priorities, and stages of life than stereotypes suggest.
  
• Lead with purpose and authenticity: Both generations prefer brands that reflect their ethics, social awareness, and technological fluency.
  
• Meet them where they are: Digital-first consumers live across platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, and they favor authenticity over interruption.
  
• Invest in experience: Millennials and Gen Z value convenience, connection, and creativity over traditional marketing, demanding highly personalized, data-informed engagement.

Brands aiming to really understand their audiences should look closely at Millennials and Generation Z: two driving forces behind today’s consumer economy. Together, they represent billions in buying power and an entirely new way of engaging with brands. These digital-first generations value authenticity, innovation, and social connection, reshaping what brand loyalty and trust look like in a connected world. For banks and marketers alike, understanding how Millennials and Gen Z think, spend, and interact online isn’t optional: it’s essential to staying relevant in a rapidly evolving marketplace.

Decoding Millennial and Gen Z Consumer Behavior Myths

Everyone thinks they have their fingers on the pulse of who Millennials and Gen Z are, but very few people have an actual working knowledge of these dynamic generations of the future, their drivers, and their distinguishing characteristics. While analysts and prognosticators may think they comprehend how Millennials and Gen Z think, purchase, and live, many marketers have almost no idea how to relate to these groups in a meaningful way.

Millennial and Gen Z Demographic Beyond the Stereotypes

While this pigeonholing surely happened to Baby Boomers and Gen X in previous years, this maddening habit of lumping an age group together and attributing overriding characteristics and behaviors to the entire cohort means that marketers miss some really important distinctions that inform how they interact with other generations, and how younger generations do or don’t interact with them. For example, while the Millennials and Gen Z use digital tools in their daily lives, what technology means to the average person is not the same across an entire generation. Yet, marketers sometimes treat these groups as a tech-crazed army.

Picture the stereotypical Millennial in your mind. What do you envision? Probably someone who is tech-savvy, established in their career, focused on networking online, and a frequent podcast listener. But did you know that 55% of Millennials are parents? Yes, that’s right. Millennials are parents, aunts, and uncles, too. 

What do you think of when you think of Gen Z? You likely envision someone who is young, spends lots of time looking at their screens, thinks differently about diversity and inclusion, and uses artificial intelligence (AI) almost every day. While these are generally true, you may not realize that they spend much more time considering their purchases compared to other generations, and they often research on their phones, apps, websites, and social media before buying.  

In reality, each generation has nuances, complexities, and subtleties that marketers should explore, not overlook. While we’ve outlined some statistics and information to give you some insights into the Millennial and Gen Z generations, your brand will need a rounded, data-driven strategy to reach them. Rejecting myths and assumptions about younger generations and embracing the data behind different generations will serve not only your workplace culture but also your brand’s marketing strategy. This philosophy applies to all industries, including banking.

What Drives Millennial and Gen Z Buying Power

Millennials were the first to grow up as “digital natives,” and Gen Z have had a first-hand seat to many technology innovations from iPhones to AI and more. To these groups, technology is ubiquitous, and they spend an average of eight to 10 hours a day online. They want both the convenience and immediate access to technology. But it’s not technology for technology’s sake. They believe technology makes life easier and connects people to what’s important, both near and far.

The Millennials and Gen Z populations were some of the first with unprecedented access to information. They often believe anything is possible, and technology empowers people to do more and be more. But given their wealth of knowledge, traditional marketing doesn’t work on these groups. Marketers will have to develop a new model if they want to reach these powerful generations.

In this digitally connected world, these groups often see marketing as something to mute or fast-forward through: an unwelcome intrusion into our lives, interrupting us from what we were doing. But their perspective on marketing this way doesn’t mean that it’s on the way out: It means brands have a great opportunity to meet them on our terms, on their turf.

Keep these statistics on Millennial and Gen Z buying habits in mind as you think through your marketing strategy:

• Millennials and Gen Z both value experiences over material goods
• Millennials are cost-conscious and prioritize personal stability
• Some key areas Millennials spend much of their money on include education, health, wellness, and cryptocurrency 
• Gen Z seeks both valuable and ethical products
• Gen Z do most of their shopping online as digital-first consumers

When it comes to banking behavior, the findings get more interesting. If your financial institution is looking to target Millennials and Gen Z groups in new ways, consider these facts from a recent study:

• Gen Z relies significantly on automated financial guidance for managing money, as well as virtual reality apps
• Millennials are the most likely to use blockchain technology for payments (compared to Gen Z or Baby Boomers)
• Nearly half of Millennials and Gen Z say that the digital banking experience is very important when they’re selecting a financial service provider

Just like everyone else, Millennials and Gen Z want to be treated like people, not prospects. For marketers to be successful, give these groups real solutions for real life situations. Provide them with good choices, but focus on your brand’s ethics and values. Treating the upcoming generations as a nuanced, rather than making assumptions, is the first step in any marketer’s strategy.

Where to Reach Digital Natives – Millennials and Gen Z

Thanks to technology, Millennials and Gen Z are bombarded with information and are connected all the time. They find email too slow, and texting is better, but DMing is best. They are tech-savvy, grew up with technology, and rely on it for professional and personal lives. In fact, 80% of Gen Z and 75% of Millennials use two or more digital devices simultaneously while watching TV. They are masters of multi-tasking with ongoing partial attention, in a world where LinkedIn manifestos seem lengthy and 10-second TikTok videos are just right. So how can marketers pay attention to where Millennials and Gen Z are? 

Because devices are so personal to users, tread lightly with marketing efforts. Millennials and Gen Z want to interact with brands on their terms. Algorithms are great at understanding them, but they have to be comfortable with brands in order for marketers to be effective. 

These populations crave social interaction. They want to share everything, including what they care about or just find entertaining. When it comes to reaching Gen Z and Millennials online, here’s what marketers should know, as of 2025:

• Gen Z’s most used platforms include YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X
• Millennials’ most used platforms include Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and X
• These populations use social media to do more than just connect: they consume the news, share ideas, have discussions and debates, and research

Defining and Understanding Generational Differences

Millennials and Gen Z may share a digital-first worldview, but their lifestyles, career paths, and consumer expectations tell two different stories. Millennials came of age during the rise of social media and economic uncertainty, shaping a generation focused on stability, growth, and meaningful experiences. Gen Z was born into hyper-connectivity, and they prioritize flexibility, self-expression, and values-driven choices over traditional definitions of success. For marketers and financial institutions alike, recognizing these subtle but powerful distinctions is key to building authentic relationships that span generations.

How to Advertise to Millennials: Timing Your Approach

Many people used to think that adoption of technology was a systematic and predictable process. Innovators developed it, early adopters jumped because it was new and novel, others eventually came on board, and the laggards being resistant to change would hold out as long as possible. Recent generations, including Millennials and Gen Z, have overturned the apple-cart. 

Millennials and Gen Z are more likely to be early adopters of technology, being both drivers and consumers of it. Plus, Millennials have embraced AI technology more than any other generation. For marketers in every space, evolution is the name of the game. 

Plus, technology is inherently social. Social media allows us to see the world, interact with it, and put our own version of it back into the world. It’s a constant process of creation, consumption, integration, and recreation. This lends to its power, and it’s not slowing down any time soon. That’s why it’s important for brands to understand how Millennials and Gen Z integrate technology into their lives and how marketers can be part of that advanced and highly-personal process.

Why Millennials Matter: Millennial Brand Loyalty and the $3.4 Trillion Opportunity

By 2025, Millennials are expected to wield an astounding $3.4 trillion in annual spending power, according to McKinsey & Company: a milestone that cemented them as the most dominant consumer group in modern history. This isn’t about inherited wealth or future windfalls from previous generations. It’s about real, earned income that Millennials are actively putting into the economy as they advance in their careers, buy homes, raise families, and invest in experiences and technology that align with their values. For marketers, this represents both a massive opportunity and a new kind of challenge: capturing the loyalty of a generation that has redefined what brand trust and authenticity mean.

This generation’s purchasing power is inseparable from its digital fluency. Millennials use technology to compare, evaluate, and connect with brands in deeply personal ways. Understanding their motivations and aligning with them has become essential for any brand looking to stay relevant in an economy increasingly driven by Millennial influence and the populations following in their footsteps.

Why Gen Z Matters: Unprecedented Online Spending Power

Gen  Z is also transforming the marketplace in dramatic fashion. With this population expected to comprise around 32% of the global population and about 40% of global consumers, their impact is monumental. Their online spending behavior is earning them the label of “the biggest online spending power in history,” and that’s not hyperbole: they’ve grown up in a digital-first world, and their purchasing habits reflect that. As members of the Gen Z population enter their peak earning years, brands must shift from passive recognition of this group to active engagement, or risk being left behind.

Gen Z is especially critical for marketers because of how they shop, why they buy, and where they’re most active. Gen Z doesn’t view buying as a “transaction” but as part of a larger journey. To target this population means not catching their attention but becoming part of the digital ecosystem they already live in.

The Takeaway: Bridging Generations Through Meaningful Marketing

Marketing to Millennials and Gen Z is about understanding people, not chasing trends. These generations expect more from the brands they engage with: transparency, innovation, and a genuine sense of purpose. They’re reshaping what it means to connect, consume, and commit in a digital age where authenticity is the new currency. The brands that thrive will be those that adapt boldly to see Millennials and Gen Z for not just where they are but who they are.