Thanks to Gen Z, the traditional marketing funnel is being completely reworked. As Vogue Business put, “their path to purchase” is blurring. Back in the day, word of mouth used to be all about chatting with friends over a cup of coffee or taking in the billboards on a commute, but today’s young consumers treat social media and websites as their go-to sources for recommendations. Although, just because they’re looking to their feeds for recs, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re relying on influencers. When young consumers share recommendations, there’s signs that anyone online can feel like a real trusted source—as much as a magazine article or a friend. They’re likely to casually drop phrases like, “I read the other day…” when in reality, they probably just scrolled upon a TikTok video about it. When they come across a product review on their feeds, they’re trusting and listening to people they don’t know, reshaping the hierarchy of trust. Brands can no longer completely control their narrative—anyone with a well-made...
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