Key Insights
Essential data points from our research
47% of Gen Z consumers describe themselves as fast fashion addicts
1 in 3 Gen Z consumers say they feel addicted to fast fashion
72% of Gen Z shoppers say they have bought fast fashion items in the last year
54% of Gen Z state they are willing to pay more for sustainable products
Despite sustainability claims, 70% of Gen Z continue to prioritize price over eco-friendliness when making purchase decisions
90% of Gen Z consumers believe companies have a responsibility to address environmental and social issues
83% of Gen Z have shopped secondhand or are open to it
Gen Z is the most active generation in the resale market, purchasing secondhand 2.5x more than other generations
62% of Gen Z say they look for an item secondhand before purchasing it new
53% of Gen Z shoppers make purchases directly through social media channels
TikTok is the number one source of fashion inspiration for 55% of Gen Z
The hashtag #SheinHaul has over 10 billion views on TikTok, driven primarily by Gen Z creators
Shein is reported as the #2 favorite e-commerce website for upper-income Gen Z teens
Nike remains the number one fashion brand for Gen Z for 12 consecutive years
Gen Z spends approximately $2,200 annually on fashion and apparel
Consumption Habits
- 47% of Gen Z consumers describe themselves as fast fashion addicts
- 1 in 3 Gen Z consumers say they feel addicted to fast fashion
- 72% of Gen Z shoppers say they have bought fast fashion items in the last year
- Gen Z consumers shop for clothes significantly more often than Boomers but own fewer items overall
- 40% of Gen Z admits to browsing online shopping sites daily
- Gen Z returns up to 30% of the apparel they purchase online
- 65% of Gen Z have made an impulse purchase of fashion based on a trend they saw that day
- Over 50% of college-aged Gen Z shop at least once a month for new clothes
- Gen Z is 25% more likely to return items than older generations due to sizing inconsistencies in fast fashion
- 20% of Gen Z fast fashion purchases are worn fewer than 5 times
- 45% of Gen Z say they shop simply to have something new to post on Instagram
- Gen Z shoppers are twice as likely as Gen X to order multiple sizes with the intent to return
- Fast fashion haul culture contributes to Gen Z purchasing 60% more garments than the buying average in 2000
- 38% of Gen Z shoppers prefer to shop in-store for fast fashion to try on clothes immediately
- Gen Z has reduced the average lifespan of a clothing garment by 36% in the last 15 years
- 1 in 5 Gen Z consumers say they discard clothes because they are bored with them, not because they are worn out
- Men in Gen Z are increasing their fast fashion consumption rate faster than women in the same cohort year over year
- 58% of Gen Z report buying clothing they didn’t plan to buy because of a discount or sale
- Gen Z consumers are expected to account for 40% of global luxury and fashion consumers by 2035
- Only 15% of Gen Z say they plan to wear their clothes for more than two years
Interpretation
Gen Z has turned fast fashion into a compulsive, low-commitment hobby: they browse and buy daily, impulse-purchase trend pieces to post on Instagram, order multiple sizes to return, and accumulate far more garments than previous generations only to wear many of them a handful of times before discarding them out of boredom, dramatically shortening clothing lifespans as this cohort becomes the future’s dominant fashion market.
Economics & Brands
- Shein is reported as the #2 favorite e-commerce website for upper-income Gen Z teens
- Nike remains the number one fashion brand for Gen Z for 12 consecutive years
- Gen Z spends approximately $2,200 annually on fashion and apparel
- 45% of Gen Z fashion spending is devoted to "mass market" or fast fashion brands
- Princess Polly and Zara consistently rank in the top 5 apparel brands for Gen Z women
- Gen Z has a collective spending power estimated at over $360 billion
- 28% of Gen Z uses Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) services for clothing purchases, the highest of any generation
- Price is the #1 deciding factor for Gen Z when purchasing clothing (preceding sustainability)
- Amazon Fashion is now the leading destination for Gen Z apparel basics
- H&M has lost 10% market share among Gen Z to ultra-fast fashion competitors like Shein and Temu
- Gen Z teens from high-income families spend 12% more on fashion than the previous generation
- Athletic brands (Nike, Adidas, Lululemon) account for 41% of Gen Z teen clothing preferences
- 57% of Gen Z are saving money specifically for luxury fashion purchases
- While Shein is popular, it also has the highest "disapproval" rating among eco-conscious Gen Z shoppers
- Gen Z allocates 19% of their total budget to apparel, the highest of any category
- Temu has become the most downloaded free app in the US, driven largely by Gen Z budget shoppers
- 32% of Gen Z claim they would choose a cheaper brand over a famous brand if the style is similar
- Gen Z spending on footwear specifically has increased by 5% year over year
- 33% of Gen Z consumers check for discount codes on third-party sites before checking out on fashion sites
- "Dupes" (cheaper duplicates of expensive items) searches are up 40% among Gen Z shoppers
Interpretation
Armed with a $360+ billion collective wallet and about $2,200 each per year, Gen Z pours roughly 19% of its budget into apparel—with 45% going to mass-market and athletic staples that keep Nike on top while fueling Shein, Temu, Zara and Princess Polly and boosting Amazon Fashion for basics, leaning hard on BNPL, discount codes and dupe hunts even as many save for luxury and voice eco-disapproval, proving that price driven pragmatism often outpaces sustainability.
Resale & Circularity
- 83% of Gen Z have shopped secondhand or are open to it
- Gen Z is the most active generation in the resale market, purchasing secondhand 2.5x more than other generations
- 62% of Gen Z say they look for an item secondhand before purchasing it new
- 46% of Gen Z considers the resale value of an item before purchasing it new
- Depop reports that 90% of its active users are under the age of 26 (Gen Z)
- 1 in 3 Gen Z consumers sells their own clothes online to fund new purchases
- 41% of Gen Z say they shop secondhand to save money
- The US secondhand market is expected to reach $82 billion by 2026, driven largely by Gen Z
- 64% of Gen Z look for secondhand items in retail stores rather than just online
- Gen Z's wardrobe consists of 25% secondhand items on average
- Vinted and Depop are among the top 5 most downloaded shopping apps for Gen Z in Europe
- 58% of Gen Z sees thrift flipping (buying used to modify/sell) as a viable side hustle
- Gen Z has removed the stigma of used clothing, with 80% viewing it as "cool"
- 30% of Gen Z shoppers have purchased a "pre-loved" luxurys item in the last 12 months
- Upcycling is a hobby for 41% of Gen Z fashion enthusiasts
- 55% of Gen Z are willing to buy used underwear or swimwear if sanitized, higher than any other generation
- Secondhand fashion is growing 11 times faster than traditional retail among Gen Z cohorts
- 37% of Gen Z say they buy secondhand to find unique items no one else has
- Gen Z sellers on Poshmark earn an average of $500 per year
- 70% of Gen Z say they have gifted a secondhand item
Interpretation
Gen Z has quietly turned thrift into trend, treating secondhand as the default shopping strategy, sourcing about a quarter of their wardrobes that way, flipping and selling clothes to fund new purchases, and powering an $82 billion market that blends money‑saving pragmatism, sustainability and a taste for unique, resellable pieces.
Social Media & Tech
- 53% of Gen Z shoppers make purchases directly through social media channels
- TikTok is the number one source of fashion inspiration for 55% of Gen Z
- The hashtag #SheinHaul has over 10 billion views on TikTok, driven primarily by Gen Z creators
- 40% of Gen Z uses TikTok or Instagram for search instead of Google when looking for fashion products
- 97% of Gen Z consumers say they use social media as their top source of shopping ideas
- 78% of Gen Z is skeptical of traditional celebrity endorsements, preferring micro-influencers
- Live-stream shopping purchases have increased by 76% among Gen Z since 2021
- 1 in 4 Gen Z consumers have purchased a digital fashion item (skin) for an avatar
- 67% of Gen Z feels pressure to follow items trending on social media
- Influencer marketing drives 25% of all Gen Z fashion purchases
- 50% of Gen Z fashion buyers agree that "FOMO" (Fear Of Missing Out) from social media drives their shopping
- 35% of Gen Z has posted an "Outfit of the Day" (OOTD) photo in the last month
- Gen Z engagement with fashion brands is 40% higher on video-based platforms (TikTok/YouTube) than image-based ones
- 60% of Gen Z discovers new fashion brands via the "For You" page on TikTok
- Use of "Buy Now Pay Later" services by Gen Z for fashion purchases promoted on social media grew 20% in one year
- 44% of Gen Z consumers have used AR (Augmented Reality) virtual try-on features
- User Generated Content (UGC) is trusted 50% more than brand-created content by Gen Z fashion shoppers
- The average Gen Z consumer spends 2 hours and 43 minutes on social media daily, often exposed to fashion ads
- 3 of top 5 favorite websites for Gen Z teens are commerce/social hybrids (Amazon, Nike, Shein)
- Pinterest searches for "Gen Z fashion trends" increase by 80% year-over-year
Interpretation
Gen Z shops with a thumb and a scroll, letting TikTok and micro-influencers convert two hours and forty-three minutes of daily screen time, FOMO, live streams, AR try-ons and Buy-Now-Pay-Later ease into rapid purchases of physical and virtual fashion, with user-generated content trusted more than brands and traditional celebrity endorsements largely ignored.
Sustainability Gap
- 54% of Gen Z state they are willing to pay more for sustainable products
- Despite sustainability claims, 70% of Gen Z continue to prioritize price over eco-friendliness when making purchase decisions
- 90% of Gen Z consumers believe companies have a responsibility to address environmental and social issues
- 42% of Gen Z feels guilty after purchasing from fast fashion retailers
- 62% of Gen Z prefer to buy from sustainable brands, yet sustainable brands make up less than 18% of their actual wardrobe
- 75% of Gen Z shoppers check if a brand is sustainable before buying
- Gen Z is twice as likely as Baby Boomers to distrust green claims made by fashion brands (greenwashing)
- 80% of Gen Z agrees that fast fashion is harmful to the planet
- Only 35% of Gen Z consumers completely trust brands' sustainability disclosures
- 52% of Gen Z wants fashion brands to be transparent about their supply chain
- The "attitude-behavior gap" regarding sustainable fashion is highest among Gen Z compared to other generations
- 60% of Gen Z claim they would boycott a brand that mistreats its workers
- Gen Z lists "climate change" as their top concern when thinking about the fashion industry
- 48% of Gen Z has abandoned a purchase because the brand did not align with their values
- 3 in 4 Gen Z consumers say they would switch to a sustainable alternative if the price was the same
- Gen Z is largely driving the 71% rise in online searches for "sustainable fashion"
- 43% of Gen Z actively looks for "vegan" or "cruelty-free" labels on fashion items
- Fewer than 10% of Gen Z consumers have rented clothing, despite claiming interest in circularity
- 68% of Gen Z expect brands to have a stance on social issues
- Nearly 50% of Gen Z say they have been influenced to buy less fast fashion by climate activists
Interpretation
Gen Z loudly demands transparent, ethical and climate-conscious fashion, checks labels and threatens boycotts while distrusting greenwashing and feeling guilty about fast-fashion buys, but their wallets often whisper "price first," showing that brands must be genuinely affordable and accountable to turn concern into consistent sustainable shopping.
References
Want to learn more about our methodology and data sources? Visit our About page to discover how we create these comprehensive statistic reports.