Monica Toriello: Another question from the audience: “Why are millennials second priority? Aren’t they a cohort with larger incomes, larger decision-making influence, and more disposable income? Why are we talking about Gen Z all the time?” Christina Adams: I am a millennial, so I will speak on behalf of my generation. It is certainly not a forgotten generation. It is still the highest-spending generation at this moment in time. That said, millennial behavior at this point looks more similar to Gen X and even, in some aspects, to baby boomers. Millennial behavior is more known and established, and it is changing less quickly than Gen Z behavior. To clarify, the data I quoted earlier was the change in Gen Zers who are married or have children. Those are not the absolute numbers, which are still relatively small—but, again, the increase in Gen Z parents every year is large and will continue to be large. So, because they are at a highly malleable point—and because, when they reach a critical age, they are expected to be bigger spenders than millennials—it’s important to understand them with nuance while not losing sight of millennials, Gen X, and also boomers, who are the second-largest spending generation at this point. Kari Alldredge: Gen Z was shaped differently, right? They were college students during the pandemic. That is likely to have lasting implications for them. One way we’re seeing it is in the prioritizing of experiences over things. And there are ways for companies—even companies that make things—to surround their thing with an experience. I’ll give you an example. I was recently in China, doing some work in the “sweet indulgences” category. We found that, among companies that have physical products, the ones growing the fastest—particularly among Gen Zers—are the ones whose products are worthy of being shared on social media. “This confection is so amazing. It costs twice as much as a similar thing, but I am willing to spend double the amount because it is so beautiful, and the way it’s presented is such an experience that I want to post it and share it.” That was eye- opening to me. It’s a great example of how a company that makes a physical product can capitalize on this notion of Gen Z being so interested in splurging, especially on experiences. Local brands and the value equation Monica Toriello: That’s a good segue to the fourth trend: the growing appeal of local brands. Christina Adams: Buying local matters. It matters to 47 percent of the people we surveyed. That is a lot—it’s certainly not 90 percent of people, but it does matter. In the EU-5, that number is 52 percent. I should also clarify that when we say “local,” we don’t mean the farmer’s market on the corner. When we say local purchases, we mean domestic brands. There are a few reasons why this is evolving. One is certainly tariffs : wanting a secure supply of the products you are purchasing and not having to worry about whether major price changes How today’s consumers are spending their time and money 6