With half of Generation Z now aged 18 or over, bars and clubs are orienting towards new preferences, spending habits, and social media platforms.
Generation Z, or zoomers, are the generation born between 1997 and 2012, and show some significant departures from consumer trends of the millennial generation that came before them. Like millennials, they are frequent visitors to the on-premise, with a CGA by NIQ report indicating that 70 per cent of gen Z adults visited the on premise multiple times a month.
Gen Z chooses venues and drinks in a different way to previous generations, and they are leading the trend of pre-planning visits to the on-premise. 44 per cent of consumers choose drinks when in the venue, compared to 36 per cent of Gen Z, indicating that many zoomers have already decided on what they are ordering before they enter the venue. This means that online promotion is key in drawing in these customers, especially on their preferred social media platforms of TikTok and Instagram.
Kinsey Johnson, owner of Brisbane’s Viscosity, has been promoting his venue on TikTok.
“Like with Instagram or Facebook or any social media, they’re free platforms to get involved with sharing your content or what you provide as a business,” Kinsey explained.
TikTok is a shortform video platform and Gen Z are its primary userbase, with Gen Z adults making up 40% of the app’s total users. It also has a larger female audience than Instagram, which is used more or less equally by men and women. Additionally, TikTok users spend more time on the platform per day, averaging 45 minutes compared to 30 minutes for Instagram users.
Speakeasy-style venues are proving popular on TikTok, as users enjoy feeling like they are experts in the area and revealing secrets to their viewers. Gen Z consumers also value rooftop venues or quality views, and are drawn to deals such as bottomless cocktails and fixed-price drinks packages.
Kinsey also highlighted the importance of customers’ social media activity in supporting the bar. Creating visually appealing serves and providing an appealing ambiance are useful in encouraging patrons to post about their nights out on Instagram.
“Everything is like a Snapchat moment that goes with the wind, or it’s something that stays on the page for a long time. Taking that into account is a pretty big aspect to the whole social media space,” Kinsey described.
Speed and consistency are also key in creating a quality TikTok presence. Luckily, these traits are also vital for a successful bar.
“It was imperative that the menu can’t be something that just the owner or the creator can make. It has to be something that any staff member can be trained on and have it look the same as what is on the menu,” said Kinsey.
“We want to not only present something that’s intricate or detailed, but it has to be done in a timely fashion,” he added.
Overall, Gen Z is showing a trend towards cocktails over beer. Even though beer just beats out cocktails with 38 per cent of Gen Z being beer drinkers and 37 per cent consuming cocktails, this rate of beer consumption is 13 percentage points below the average, whereas the cocktail consumption is 9 percentage points over the average. Kinsey has noticed a preference for sweeter drinks in this 18 to 25 age range, but expects that this taste will mature over time.
“It reminds me of people and their first coffees. When you first try coffee, it’s not that nice. It’s a bit bitter. It’s unusual. It’s more of a sipping thing, now and again. But you get exposed to it, and then the brain rewires and all of a sudden you find yourself loving that taste of coffee,” he described.
For Viscosity, regularly updating the drinks offering helps keep customers engaged with social media platforms and creates repeat customers.
“We are always invigorate the menu and changing it to keep something there, at least once a week, once a fortnight. [It’s] a reason for the old customers to want to come back and see what’s going on, notice the change,” Kinsey commented.
TikTok is a rapidly expanding social media platform, and a common way for Gen Z adults to find venues in their local area. Visually-appealing serves and venues are a useful differentiating factor, and provide an extra benefit for customers.
“Not only are they having a night out with their friends and they have all their memories, now they’ve got the physical evidence of their memories. When you’re paying $20 or $30 a drink, it gives them something else to go with it. They’ve got a photo to show their friends, they’ve got more of an element of the purchase, not only the alcohol,” Kinsey concluded.
