The State of Consumer Trends [Data from 1000+ Consumers]

Download Now: 2022 State of U.S. Consumer Trends Report

As the world constantly changes, it can be hard to stay up to date with ever evolving consumer behaviors, preferences, and trends.

But, as marketers, knowing your buyer persona — and what motivates them — is absolutely vital.

To help both marketers and business professionals alike, we surveyed over 1,000 consumers across the U.S., talked with industry experts, and did a deep dive into generation-by-generation data to learn:

What trends they’re following.
Which online platforms they use.
How and where they prefer to shop.
What they think about returning to the office.
and much, much more.

With this look into the minds, interests, and purchasing motives of today’s consumers, we hope we can better help you meet your target audiences where they are.

Without further adieu, let’s dive into the biggest consumer trends you’ll need to know about in 2022 — and beyond.

The State of Consumer Trends in 2022 [Top Findings You Need to Know About]

1. More and More, Gen Z Differentiates Themselves From All Other Age Groups

One of the most fascinating things to dig into when looking at survey results were the vast differences between Gen Z and other age groups — including their closest predecessor, Millennials.

When taking a deeper dive into our generation-by-generation data, we found that Gen Z:

When it comes to shopping, generations are highly influenced by price, quality, and product reviews. Gen Z especially values brands that have active communities around them.
TikTok and Instagram are the most used social media apps among Gen Z women, while men spend much more time on YouTube.
Gen Z is all about YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. Not only for social networking and entertainment but also for discovering (and buying) products.

The findings above weren’t the only interesting points to call out. Our lead researcher and analyst, Maxwell Iskiev explores the differences between how all age groups shop and discover products with this follow-up guide:

How Each Generation Shops in 2022 [New Data from Our State of Consumer Trends Report]

2. People trust recommendations from influencers more than their loved ones.

For decades, word of mouth has proven to be a solid source for product referrals or recommendations.

But now, word of mouth from friends or family is seeing competition from a somewhat surprising source: online influencers.

And in 2022, 30% of consumers now report influencer recommendations are one of the most important factors in their purchasing decisions, compared to 27% for recommendations from friends or family.