Wanted: Editorial Assistant at YPulse NYC!
Are you fascinated by youth culture, and figuring out the hows and whys of big trends? Do you love writing and reading about Gen Z, Millennials, and the impact they’re making on the world? This…
The Power of Community: A Research Project by Reddit & YPulse
The social media landscape is changing. The tools that are supposed to bring us together are often making us feel more isolated and distant from one another. Alienation is the name of the game online.…
Wanted: Senior Market Research Strategist at YPulse NYC!
YPulse is hiring a Senior Market Research Strategist to join our NYC team. ABOUT YPULSE With 15 years of experience studying tweens, teens and twenty-somethings, YPulse is the leading authority on youth. We’re a team…
Wanted: Marketing Operations Lead at YPulse
Who We Are YPulse is the world leader in youth consumer insights and advisory. Every day, for clients like Netflix, YouTube, Victoria Secret and nearly 100 others, we develop deep insights into teens and young…
Wanted: Manager, Outbound Demand Generation at YPulse
Who We Are YPulse is the world leader in youth consumer insights and advisory. Every day, for clients like Netflix, YouTube, Victoria Secret and nearly 100 others, we develop deep insights into teens and young…
Wanted At YPulse: Research Operations Analyst
Survey Programming / Data Processing / Data Analysis / Data Visualization Join our rapidly growing media and market research team for an opportunity to work across a broad variety of research and technical functions, gaining…
Wanted: Research Operations Programmer / Analyst at YPulse
Role Description Survey Programming / Front-end Developer / Data Visualization To apply, please send a cover letter and your resume to jobs@ypulse.com. Join our rapidly growing media and market research team for an opportunity to…
Wanted: Freelance Tableau Developer
ABOUT YPULSE With 15 years of experience studying tweens, teens and twenty-somethings, YPulse is the leading authority on youth. We’re a team of intelligent and creative researchers, data scientists, and trend forecasters that help brands…
Dear Subscriber:
In March, YPulse launched our COVID-19 hub to provide accurate real-time data on the immediate, drastic changes to Gen Z and Millennials' lives in quarantine. We created nine webinars, 13 reports, and over 50 feature articles to guide brands through the crisis, and as a public service opened access to our COVID-19 articles and webinars to all readers.
Now, we're looking at what comes next for young consumers. As they navigate a post-COVID world, we'll be integrating our coverage of the pandemic's ongoing impacts into all of our subscriber-exclusive research on these generations.
On June 1, we will return to our regular reporting schedule. Current YPulse subscribers will continue to have unlimited access to all our articles, weekly behavioral reports, monthly trend reports, and monthly webinars on Gen Z and Millennials.
If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out at success@ypulse.com.
Watch our entire series of COVID-19 webinars here.
See how nearly 400+ Millennial & Gen Z brands have fared before and after the pandemic (Pro Subscribers Only).
Upgrade from Prime to Pro, and get access to +1,000,000 datapoints on Millennial and Gen Z brands and behaviors.
Reports
The Next Wave of Health & Fitness
With gyms closed and quarantines in place, young people who are staying active are doing so within their home. In response, fitness brands are taking their at-home offerings to the next level with mobile apps,…
The COVID Media Boom: Media Consumption During & After the Crisis
With the majority of young consumers in quarantine, entertainment has quickly shifted to an essential and media consumption has experienced a boom. From video streaming to listening to music to gaming, these isolated generations are…
COVID-19 Special Report: Gen Z’s Education Interrupted
When remote learning began, most students saw Coronavirus as a short-term problem. But their time at home has stretched longer, and now many won’t be returning to school this year. Remote learning has become a…
COVID-19 Special Report: Employment & Career Plans, What’s Changed
Young consumers’ worlds have been quickly and drastically altered, and financially they are struggling. The crisis has unquestionably impacted them, and changed their career paths—but there is optimism about the future. And while the future…
COVID-19 Special Report: Surviving COVID & What Comes Next
Our surveys of 13-39-year-olds in the U.S. show that their worlds have been quickly and drastically altered, and they are still attempting to adjust to the new normal—with some struggles. Understanding that the crisis will…
COVID-19 Special Report: How COVID-19 Has Changed Social Media Use
With the majority of young consumers in quarantine, staying connected and entertained has quickly shifted from leisure to an essential. And social platforms are getting more of their attention, with Gen Z and Millennials spending…
COVID-19 Special Report: How Sports Fans Are Coping
What are young sports fans watching with games on pause – and what do they want to watch? What competitive content trends are being fueled by quarantine, and which have staying power? This report explores…
COVID-19 Special Report: Hobbies & Pastimes in Quarantine
When we explored what young consumers are doing to survive quarantine we found that escaping boredom would be a priority for them during this time. Now, we’ve taken a closer look at the pastimes and…
COVID-19 Special Report: Grocery Shopping
Gen Z and Millennials have not been immune to the grocery frenzy that has taken over during the Coronavirus crisis. Groceries have suddenly become a major focus for young consumers, and while they have long…
COVID-19 Special Report: Facing COVID Fears and Finances
We’ve been tracking young consumers’ COVID-related fears, and how these feelings could impact their futures. The majority tell us that the world will never be the same after Coronavirus, which also indicates that these young…
Articles
This App Wants to Change How Gen Z Shops
The way Gen Z buys clothes is changing—and Mada wants to be the future online space for these young shoppers …
Young Consumers’ Feelings About the End of Quarantines Show Brands Need to Proceed With Caution
Here’s how most young people feel about quarantine rules being lifted—and what that means for brands next steps…
Thanks to TikTok, Roller Skates Are The Next Thing To Sell Out During COVID, on The Viral List
Roller skates are selling out because of TikTok, Disney+ is dropping Hamilton way earlier than expected, Millennial parents are testing their child’s patience with a new challenge involving fruit snacks, and restaurant workers are getting…
How Brands Are Talking About Mental Health During COVID
YPulse is carefully monitoring COVID-19’s impact on young consumers and how brands can respond. We’ll be providing new data and insights for you weekly to cope with the crisis, including special reports, exclusive data on…
Thanks to COVID, These Could be Gen Z & Millennials’ Next Big Fashion Trends
YPulse is carefully monitoring COVID-19’s impact on young consumers and how brands can respond. We’ll be providing new data and insights for you weekly to cope with the crisis, including special reports, exclusive data on…
Pancake Cereal is the Latest Quarantine Food Trend on The Viral List
Pancake Cereal is the latest food craze on social media, Warner Bros. & e.l.f Cosmetics both dropped branded TikTok challenges that went viral, Heinz Ketchup dropped the “slowest puzzle on earth,” and Twilight fans are…
Millennials Wanted To Work From Home—This Isn’t What They Meant
YPulse is carefully monitoring COVID-19’s impact on young consumers and how brands can respond. We’ll be providing new data and insights for you weekly to cope with the crisis, including special reports, exclusive data on…
Music Marketing Was Already Transforming—COVID Pushed It Forward
From exclusive releases on social media to virtual concerts on gaming apps like Fornite and Minecraft, the future of music marketing is here… With concerts and music festivals cancelled and postponed, musicians have been finding…
4 (Stat-Based) Predictions About Gen Z & Millennials’ Post-Quarantine Content Consumption
Young consumers’ content consumption has been reshaped by quarantines, and our research hints at what their media behavior will look like now… When quarantines began, we saw Gen Z and Millennials’ media use impacted immediately,…
The Vegan TikToker Who Got 2 Million Followers in 2 Months is on The Viral List
A vegan influencer is lifting up people’s spirits with her recipes and positive videos, two of TikTok’s hottest songs gets a remix thanks to Beyoncé and Nicki Minaj, quarantined young consumers can’t get enough of…
News
Influencers are about to make more money on Instagram.
Influencers are about to make more money on Instagram. In the wake of talk about TikTok influencers being brands’ new go-tos, Instagram is doubling down on ways for their creators to make money on the platform by sharing ad revenue with them for the first time. New features will include ads on IGTV, digital badges that followers can buy through the Live feature, merch sales through Instagram Shopping, and an expansion of the Brands Collabs Manager tool, which handles sponsored campaigns between brands and influencers. While Instagram has been mostly “hands off” on monetization, these new updates could “drastically alter the influencer money making landscape.” (NYTimes, The Verge)
TikTok and virtual events are helping sports teams and brands stay afloat during COVID.
TikTok and virtual events are helping sports teams and brands stay afloat during COVID. The pandemic continues to upend sporting events, and many teams have had to scramble to find ways to appease brands as sponsorship plans are derailed. Due to legal reasons and contracts, some deals are harder to get out of, so virtual events like NASCAR’s iRacing series and NBA’s town halls have served as solutions for the time being. Athletes and leagues like the NFL, NHL, MLB, and NBA have turned to TikTok for sponsored hashtags and “challenge-driven content” (attracting millions and billions of views and followers) to keep their young fans entertained. (Front Office Sports, Ad Age, The Business Journals)
Alcohol brands are making plans for the post-pandemic future.
Alcohol brands are making plans for the post-pandemic future. There’s been a clear surge in alcohol sales during quarantine as young consumers stock booze and turn to brands they know, many of which have “widespread distribution and availability.” According to Nielson, online alcohol sales saw a “staggering” 339% surge during the first part of May. Despite the general spike, local craft breweries and distilleries, who rely on in-person tap and tasting rooms, are hurting as they struggle to migrate online.
Pinterest is getting into online grocery shopping, allowing users to buy ingredients through brand posts.
Pinterest is getting into online grocery shopping, allowing users to buy ingredients through brand posts. It’s no secret that home cooking has surged during quarantine leading to a boom in online grocery sales. YPulse’s exclusive research found that 24% of 18-39-year-olds are grocery shopping online more because of COVID. According to Pinterest, between March and April they saw a 191% increase in searches for the term “leftovers,” as well as spikes in searches for “cooking tips”. Now, the site will offer up shoppable ads that would allow users to buy ingredients from brands like Hormel Pepperoni and Stella Artois through third-party vendor sites—pushing social shopping even further into the future. (Adweek, NRF)
Kiddie pool sales are surging right now (for obvious reasons).
Kiddie pool sales are surging right now (for obvious reasons). With public pools closed and summer just around the corner, quarantined families and young consumers are turning to the next best thing: inflatable kiddie pools. According to Amazon, sales of pools and pool-related products doubled in April, while Target saw “record-breaking” sales for their Minnidip “designer” adult-sized inflatable pools last month. They’re not just for children though, grown-up Millennials are also buying them to cool down in with “a hard seltzer or glass of rosé.” Meanwhile, built in pool companies are seeing an increased demand as well. (MarketWatch)
Gen Z’s sustainable shopping habits could lead to the end of fast fashion.
Gen Z’s sustainable shopping habits could lead to the end of fast fashion. Despite the ongoing health crisis, sustainability and climate change is still a priority to young consumers. According to research from the RSA, 28% of consumers are either recycling or reusing clothing more than usual, while 35% of women intend to buy fewer clothes in the future. Prior to the pandemic, while two-thirds of clothing was bought in stores, 18-to-24-year-olds were already finding alternative ways to shop through online rental and resale sites like Poshmark, ThredUp, Grailed, Vestiaire Collective, and Depop—which has seen a 90% traffic increase in the last month. While the future of fashion and retail is still under debate, some hope that the increased use of secondhand clothing sites will “encourage people to reconsider resale as an alternative to shopping new.” (The Guardian)
More Millennials are joining TikTok.
More Millennials are joining TikTok. While the platform has primarily been Gen Z-dominated, more Millennials have been signing up during quarantine. According to data from Comscore, between January and April, the number of 25-34-year-olds on the app rose from 22.4% to 27.4%, and 35-44-year-old users grew from 13.9% to 17.1%. While the number 18-24-year-old users grew from 9 million to 14 million, Millennial use grew at “a faster rate.” The surge in new users has contributed to $78 million of in-app revenue—a 10x increase from last month. (Adweek, Mobile Marketer)
Meanwhile, TikTok creators are replacing Instagram influencers.
Meanwhile, TikTok creators are replacing Instagram influencers. While Instagram celebrities were previously idolized, COVID (and a series of missteps) caused followers to realize that they don’t relate to their “lavish lifestyles.” Now, TikTok influencers are poised to become brands’ new go-tos as young consumers crave authenticity and someone who “empathizes” with what they’re going through. Throughout the pandemic, TikTok stars like Charli D’Amelio and the McFarlands have connected with their audience with playful content while equally offering a realistic view into their quarantined lives. (Adweek)
During COVID, ad spending is thriving for some “unexpected” brands.
During COVID, ad spending is thriving for some “unexpected” brands. According to research from MediaRadar, certain marketers quickly pivoted during the first quarter of the year. Breakfast cereal makers’ ad spending shot up 13% in February and March, while skincare and hygiene products invested $10.6 million—a 38% month-over-month increase. Unsurprisingly, online education and software brands saw a spike in ad spending reaching $45 million. There were some investments from “unexpected” industries, like prescription eyewear and toy companies, which outpaced what is usually seen during the holiday season—2.5x more than normal. However, travel-related ad spending saw a downward turn of 79% over the same period. Depending on how the economic recovery goes, brands will likely have to decide whether they need to adjust their marketing in the future. (Marketing Dive)
Millennial parents will be beneficial to the economy.
Millennial parents will be beneficial to the economy. COVID has already heavily impacted the future of Millennials and while many have delayed marriage and having children, they aren’t totally forgoing family life. Pre-pandemic, YPulse’s Millennial Parenting report found that 52% of 19-37-year-olds are open to or plan to be parents in the future. As more Millennials enter their “parenting prime,” economists predict a significant shift in spending from discretionary purchases to necessities—with 90% of spending going toward mortgage interest, vehicles, gasoline, furniture, toys, and children’s clothing. (Barrons)