How Does Mental Health Impact Your Consumers’ Shopping Habits?

Stress, anxiety and depression—all symptoms of our worst days. But these are also all invisible diseases that a significant portion of the population struggles with in everyday life. 46 percent of Gen Z consumers say that mental health awareness concerns dictate their purchases. It’s not just the younger crowd, either; 47 percent of Baby Boomers say the same.

So why this rise of mental health awareness? Blame social media. Social platforms play a significant role in the increased pressure and stress modern consumers experience. As they look to escape, your consumers spend less time interacting with digital ads and more time disconnecting. In the words of Kanye West: “Closed on Sunday, you my Chick-fil-A /
Hold the selfies, put the ’Gram away.”

If you’re targeting younger generations, this might not be good news for your business. How can you change your approach and create advertisements that better fit this new consumer mentality?

Doubling Down On Self-Care

First, let’s understand something crucial. What do younger generations’ concerns about mental health look like?

Gen Z consumers are not only more focused on mental health; they’re also more anxious about their general mental wellness. This increased level of anxiety has led to changes in the way this new generation approaches shopping.

Social media and ad saturation both contribute to increased feelings of helplessness around the world today. To escape this information permeation, Gen Z shoppers have taken a surprising twist of events. They flee the digital world entirely, spending more of their shopping hours in brick-and-mortar shops.

This break from the online world allows Gen Z consumers to recharge their mental batteries. It also means they’re not seeing your digital ads as often.

Looking To Escape Online Pressure

Does this mean that e-commerce is going out of style? Hardly. More and more consumers today are making purchases online. Consumers who suffer from anxiety and depression even benefit from online shopping services, as these services enable them to receive groceries at home when their mental health starts to impact their physical well-being.

That said, the return of brick-and-mortar shops is more explicitly linked to consumers’ stress surrounding social media. To remove themselves from the constant ad pressure, 73% of Gen Z consumers are heading to physical shops to discover products and deals.

That generational attention is one compelling reason for businesses large and small to continue funneling resources into their storefronts.

The New Advertising Headspace

If younger consumers are simultaneously looking for a social media break while also connecting with influencers over ads, what can we do to make their shopping experience better?

For one, it’s not the responsibility of a corporation to tend to its consumers’ mental health. That responsibility falls to the individual. However, it’s clear that while pushing an ad on social media may generate widespread success, individualized approaches may garner more success with the health-conscious Gen Z.

Such has been the case with influencers, and so too does it seem to be the case with advertising. Pair a pared-down social media approach with active, sale-oriented storefronts, and businesses will be able to generate consumer loyalty among one of the most stressed-out generations of all time.

Image attribution: esben468635 – stock.adobe.com