At the end of 2025, Perceptive ran the NZ Consumer Trends Survey with over 500 consumers from across New Zealand. In the survey, we asked respondents about their buying behaviours across a range of categories and explored how these behaviours differed by generation.
Here are some of the biggest divides in behaviour we found.
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Gen Zs (18-29 years) brand switching behaviour is prominent across several categories. They are more inclined to shop around for the best deal or offer, or for better rewards.
Millennials (30-44 years) are financially and time pressed and it shows across how they choose to purchase in multiple categories.
Gen Xs (45-64 years) tend to fall in the middle behaviour-wise. They seesaw between Baby Boomer and Millennial tendencies, particularly in the financial services space.
Baby Boomers (65+ years) tend to keep it traditional. They’re more likely to stick to what they know works with tried and tested approaches and ways of buying.
Baby Boomers in particular show greater loyalty and tend to stick with brands they know and trust (21% versus 14% overall). Meanwhile, we see almost the opposite from Gen Zs, of which only 8% stick with brands they known and trust.
We see a similar story play out when it comes to trying new brands. While the majority of consumers are open to trying new brands if they offer better value overall, Gen Z and Millennials are more open than older generations. Millennials, in particular, are the most open minded (66%), especially compared to Baby Boomers (47%) who are more likely to buy brands they know will work (19% versus 9% overall).
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Brand switching is especially prevalent among Gen Z consumers, and Millennials to a lesser extent. This switching behaviour and/or intent to switch is particularly prevalent across financial service categories.
As for what prompts younger Kiwis to switch, promotions and rewards are the main drivers. Meanwhile, older generations (Gen X and Baby Boomers) are more likely to switch due to trust and personalised service/customer experience.
Here it is important to note we surveyed two types of personalisation: personalised service (e.g., personalised customer experience) and personalised offers (e.g., promotions tailored and targeted to the individual). We also saw significantly different preferences for each depending on the generation.
Boomers have greater preference for personalised service, such as having local branches/franchises and one-to-one conversations and experiences with brands and their employees. This is particularly prevalent in the financial services and automotive categories. Gen Zs, by comparison, tend to care less about visiting local branches/stores in person or to physically interact with a product or brand representative before they buy.
As for personalised offers (e.g., tailored promotions) Boomers and Gen Z differ greatly. Only 45% of Boomers view personalised offers as important compared to 91% of Gen Z (versus 66% overall). Moreover, many Boomers don’t like personalised offers/feel they are invasive (22% versus 12% overall). This feeling is also shared among 16% of Gen X (compared with 5% Millennials and 3% Gen Z).
Boomers are less likely to be interested in new technology in products and services (44% versus 59% overall). This is particularly noticeable when we compare them to the 71% of Millennials who are interested in the new technology in their products and services. In keeping with this, Boomers are also more likely to be sceptical (35% versus 25% overall) or overwhelmed (17% versus 10% overall) by technology in products and services.
We see similar preferences for using AI to shop with Gen Zs and Millennials being most likely to have used AI tools to buy (52% and 49% respectively) compared to fewer Gen X and Boomers (29% and 12% respectively).
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When it comes to reaching and engaging with audiences, brands need to take into consideration the preferences of different age groups and accept they may need to use different approaches to reach and engage different audiences.
While younger generations are leading the shift in consumer behaviour, it should not be cause to throw the baby out with the bathwater. True, brands may need to adapt to these changing preferences, particularly if their key audience(s) include Millennials and Gen Z consumers. However, adapting should not come at the cost of other strategies, particularly those that appeal to older audiences or are tailored to traits and preferences that go beyond age demographics, such as need-based or behavioural customer segmentation.
Download our full Trends in NZ Consumer Behaviour report for more detailed insights into specific categories, how AI is changing shopping behaviour, and what these behaviour shifts mean for brands and marketers in 2026.