Shopping to calm anxiety, Gen Z's new stress reliever

A musical hit from the early 2000s is bewitching a generation that was not even born then. Yet Kelis's Milkshake, the 2003 single from the album Tasty, has become the soundtrack for Gap's new US market campaign. And it is making its mark. "Because Gap's Better in denim advert has hit the right note": so headlined Forbes America, highlighting how the iconic American label has found its groove again and thanks to world star Katseye has managed to seize the moment. The campaign brought low-waisted denim back into the cultural debate through a dance that blends different genres. In the spot, Katseye, the most talked-about artist on the music scene with over 22 million followers, a growing global fandom and billboard singles, winks. Talk about a moment of reflection. Here, uncertainty is overcome by putting your wallet over the hurdle.

Welcome to the time marked by doom spending understood as shopping unbridled and becoming a form of stress reliever: when the future is scary, the shopping trolley (even for the very young) becomes a refuge. Thus doom spending declines purchases that arise from unstable work, climatic crises, geopolitical difficulties. It is the dark side of shopping in the age of uncertainty. Today, the elusive Generation Z is the most vulnerable: it spends on impulse and often lacks the skills to understand the risks of a lack of financial literacy. This is also revealed by the new Intuit Credit Karma research. 41% of young people are exposed to compulsive spending, while 42% admit to episodes of panic buying, i.e. purchases dictated by fear of price increases or product shortages. Basically, it is the restless twin of the no-buy challenge: some react by tightening their belts, others choose the philosophy of 'live today, we'll see tomorrow'. This is why widespread anxiety becomes the problematic infrastructure of contemporary consumption.

"It is important to distinguish between different cores of this generation. Theexpoteens, as we define them, are the adolescents who are highly exposed to social media and who as early as 13 to 18 years of age often access the shopping cart by social shopping. In their case, consumption more generally represents a soothing, a source of reassurance and sharing with their peers. In the creactives, over 19 years of age, anxiety already subsides and consumption is evaluated, measured, optimised. Rather, for them, shopping becomes a concrete and creative contribution against an anxiety that is lessening and also concerns them with environmental damage. In the latter case we are talking above all aboutre-commerce spending," says Francesco Morace, sociologist and author of the book "Ma quale Gen Z?" published by Egea.

But if the data speak of impulsive spending, are we entering a structural phase in which consumption serves first and foremost to regulate emotions? "We speak of Quick & Deep choices as a new paradigm: the instantaneousness of decisions that characterises adolescents is reconciled with the ability of older children to expertly evaluate price-quality dynamics and promotional opportunities. The emotions prevail in the younger age leaving room for the gratification of having chosen smartly, optimising time and money. These virtuous dynamics are realised above all in services and in particular in the organisation of travel, for which young people also become protagonists in the family,' says Morace.

The challenge for brands and creators is to manage the fears of the very young, without turning them into commercial leverage. This means entering delicate territory such as positioning and relationships: not just selling products, but managing emotions without slipping into cynicism. Because relief lasts a moment, whiletrust and reputation remain the only capital when collective anxiety turns into consumption.