Gen Z is shopping more on Snapchat than TikTok or Instagram, study shows

Social media marketing works.
 By 
Christianna Silva
 on 
Woman purchasing clothes on a mobile app
Social media marketing works. Credit: Getty Images / Alistair Berg

If it feels like every time you log onto social media you're being marketed to, there's good reason — you are, and that's because it works.

According to a new report from research firm EMARKETER, "high shares of shoppers" across the board are buying content from creators on all platforms.

The people most influenced by creators to shop are young people, particularly Gen Z shoppers, while the people least likely are baby boomers. The platform that influences creator-driven shopping the most is Snapchat, remarkably beating out both TikTok and Instagram, while the platform that influences shoppers the least is Facebook.


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"In our survey, 85.6% of social shoppers who said Snapchat content led them to make a purchase also said they had made a purchase because of creator or influencer content," read the report, in which EMARKETER surveyed 1,207 people "who have made or been inspired to make a purchase from social media platforms" in the past year. "Those shoppers may have seen that content elsewhere, but it’s likely that at least some saw it on Snapchat."

The survey found that 82 percent of Gen Z shoppers — aged 15 to 26 years old — who responded to their survey bought something because of a creator, compared to just over 18 percent of baby boomer shoppers and 40 percent of Gen X shoppers.

Conspicuous consumption is real, social media marketing works, the sky is blue.

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Christianna Silva
Senior Culture Reporter

Christianna Silva is a senior culture reporter covering social platforms and the creator economy, with a focus on the intersection of social media, politics, and the economic systems that govern us. Since joining Mashable in 2021, they have reported extensively on meme creators, content moderation, and the nature of online creation under capitalism.

Before joining Mashable, they worked as an editor at NPR and MTV News, a reporter at Teen Vogue and VICE News, and as a stablehand at a mini-horse farm. You can follow her on Bluesky @christiannaj.bsky.social and Instagram @christianna_j.

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