In a survey of millennial consumers in the U.S., around ** percent of women said Instagram had the most influence on their shopping habits, compared to ** percent of the men surveyed. Younger millennials between the ages of 25 and 29 stated they were most influenced by more visual content-focused platforms such as Instagram and TikTok. Meanwhile, those in their 30s and 40s said Facebook was the primary platform shaping their shopping behavior.

In 2023, Instagram claimed the top spot as the preferred social media platform for shopping among Gen Z and millennial consumers. However, Gen Z also showed an inclination towards shopping via TikTok, while millennials leaned towards both YouTube and Facebook over the trendy Chinese short-video platform. Conversely, older generations exhibited similar preferences for social commerce, with both favoring Facebook and YouTube over the more visually appealing Instagram and TikTok.

As of September 2023, YouTube as the most popular social media platform for global users, with 97 percent of respondents reporting to use the popular video platform. YouTube was also the most popular social media among Gen Z users, with 96 percent of respondents in this age group reporting to have used the video platform as of the examined period. Facebook's usage kept steady among among the general digital population, with around eight in 10 reporting to have used the platform. In comparison, the social media's popularity was in free fall among gen Z users with only four in 10 among those surveyed reporting to engage with the Meta-powered platform.

WhatsApp, Facebook and YouTube ranked as the most popular social media for Dutch Millennials or 20-to-39-year-olds in 2020, beating, for example, Instagram. In 2020, roughly 90 percent of the Millennial respondents in the Netherlands said they used WhatsApp. Facebook was also popular, with 82 percent indicating they actively used this platform. Both social networks had over ten million users in the country, of which 9.1 million were daily users for WhatsApp and 6.8 million for Facebook.

Millennials are less active on Facebook

Despite that Facebook ranks as the second-most popular social media platform, the Silicon Valley application experienced upheaval in the Netherlands. In a different question asked by the source, 57 percent of the Millennials agreed with a statement that said they spent less time on Facebook than they used to. Privacy concerns were one possible explanation for this. Some respondents also mentioned, though, that the platform had become too time-consuming and would rather spend it on “real life” activities.

Instagram and Snapchat a gateway to Generation Z, not Millennials

Are Dutch Millennials leaving Facebook then for other social networks, such as Instagram or Snapchat? The ranking provided here does to indicate that the 23-to-37-year-olds are part of the user base of the two photo apps. Data looking at the growing penetration rate of the two platforms by different age groups in the Netherlands confirms this. This same data does mention, though, that consumers aged 15-19 used the apps a lot more. Between 2015 and 2018, Instagram’s penetration rate among Generation Z increased by roughly 25 percentage points whilst the youngest generation was the first in the Netherlands to use Snapchat.

According to a survey conducted in the United States in 2025, Millennials made up ** percent of social media users in the country. Overall, Generation Z accounted for ** percent of the United States' social media audience, and Generation X made up ** percent. Additionally, Baby boomers accounted for just **** percent of users.

A report held in June 2022 among Gen Z and millennials in the United States found that these consumers, aged 16 to 40 years old, were using Facebook most often, with ** percent saying they did so daily or more. LinkedIn, Twitch, and Nextdoor were the least used social sites for news, whereas YouTube and Instagram were used almost as often as Facebook in this respect.

According to a survey run in Spain in March 2023, 86 percent of Millennial respondents used WhatsApp, making it the most popular social media platform in the country among that population group. Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube followed closely, with an audience reach of 75 percent, 74 percent, and 73 percent respectively.

According to a survey among internet users conducted in Vietnam by Decision Lab as of the third quarter of 2024, Facebook was considered the primary social media platform by ** percent of the Millennial respondents. Meanwhile, ** percent of them listed the Vietnamese platform Zalo as their primary app.

As of September 2024 in the United Kingdom, 98 percent of Generation Z, those born between 1995 and 2012, were using social media. The same was true for 97 percent of millennials in the country. Overall, 92 percent of Gen X were on social networks, as were 86 percent of Baby boomers.

As of 2020, ******** was the most popular social media platform among Gen Z and Millennials in the United States to connect to others. ****** and ******* ranked second and third, with respective shares of ** percent and ** percent of respondents using these social networks to connect to others.

A 2024 global survey explored what Gen Z and millennial travelers thought of destinations they visited after seeing it on social media or promoted by an influencer. While ** percent of the sample mentioned that the destination was somewhat better than expected, ********* said that it was just as they had imagined it. Meanwhile, only **** percent of respondents mentioned that the visited travel destination was somewhat worse than expected.

According to a global survey conducted in 2021, respondents who belonged to Generation Z reported spending on average three hours per day on social media. Overall, Millennials stated that they spent 2.25 hours per day on online social platforms. Those belonging to the Baby boomer generation spent an average one hour on social media, daily.

YouTube was the social media platform with the biggest reach among U.S. Gen Z and Millennial internet users regardless of gender. During the September 2019 survey, 95 percent of male and 92 percent of female respondents stated that they used the online video platform. In contrast, Facebook had a 70 and 78 percent reach respectively.

******** was the most popular social media platform for Gen Z, or 15-to-19-year-olds, in the Netherlands in 2020, with nearly all respondents using the service. This according to domestic survey information. The ********* service already ranked as the Netherlands' overall most popular social medium in terms of users. YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat were also very popular, all reaching a penetration rate of over ** percent. Karaoke app TikTok, on the other hand, was much less popular, as only ** percent of them used the video application. Why is TikTok low in this ranking? Chinese video and sing-along application TikTok, formerly Musical.ly, made a global name as being one of the most popular smartphone apps for Generation Z. Here, it seemingly ranks low as the source used ages ** and up. This age group might potentially fall outside TikTok’s user base. While there is no data for the Netherlands that investigates the age groups below **, download numbers suggest the app grew in popularity in the Netherlands after Bytedance (TikTok’s owner) merged Musical.ly and TikTok in August 2018. A clash of generations Perhaps unsurprisingly, Gen Z uses Instagram and Snapchat much more often than their Millennial counterparts (defined by the source as 20-to 39-year olds). Interestingly, Pinterest was also more popular among the younger generation. The picture gallery app does not rank among the most popular apps in the Netherlands, reaching less than **** million people in 2019. Facebook, on the other hand, was more preferred by Millennials than it was by Generation Z.

In a 2021 survey conducted among more than 350 U.S. Gen Z and Millennials, nearly two-thirds (62 percent) reported making a purchase on their smartphone as a result of branded social media posts and/or content shared by influencers.

According to a global survey conducted in 2023, roughly ********** of Millennials followed and purchased goods from the social media accounts of brands. Overall, about **** of Gen Z users followed and purchased from influencers, whilst just ** percent of Baby boomers did. Additionally, *** out of ten respondents belonging to the Gen X age group followed and purchased from the social media accounts of retailers. A booming market In recent years, social commerce has exploded in popularity among online shoppers. Consumers can now purchase items directly on social media platforms, going from discovery to purchase in a matter of minutes. Social commerce is estimated to reach over *** trillion U.S. dollars in revenue by 2028, up from *** billion in 2024. This new form of e-commerce is the most popular in Thailand, where around ** percent of online consumers use social sites as a purchase channel. In comparison, this share stood at ** percent in the United States. Chinese platforms dominate the social space Chinese social shopping sites are the most successful ones worldwide. For example, Douyin, a short-form video sharing app, ranked as the highest revenue-generating platform in 2024, raking in approximately *** billion U.S. dollars. WeChat, a messaging app, came in second with a revenue of *** billion dollars, followed by Little Red Book, a picture sharing app, with a revenue of ** billion dollars. TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, came in sixth place, pulling in ** billion dollars in revenue. While TikTok's popularity extends globally, its on-app purchase store, TikTok Shop, primarily caters to the Asian market. Thus, it is clear that China is the global leader in social selling.

In 2021, messaging and video sharing platform Snapchat was more popular than TikTok among Gen Z users in the United States. TikTok counted around 37 million users who were born between 1997 and 2012, while Instagram reported around 33 million users in the same period. Snapchat, which counted 42 million Gen Z users, is projected to reach 49.5 million users in the examined demographic by 2025. Overall, platforms such as Pinterest, Twitter and Reddit had significantly less users amongst this age group.

Gen Z women are more likely than Gen Z men to make purchases via social media in the United States and the United Kingdom. At least 43 percent of female respondents in that generation had experienced buying a product on social networks as of January 2022, while the male usage rate stood at 37 percent. Discovering new brands via social media or visiting brands' social media stores was also more popular among Gen Z women than their male counterparts.

During a 2021 survey, more than 350 U.S. Gen Z and Millennial were asked about the products they bought more of thanks to social media brands' posts and/or influencers' content, over 40 percent cited apparel. Beauty and make-up items followed, with an increase in purchase according to almost 23 percent of those surveyed in the North American country.

Social media's influence on Gen Z shopping habits has surged dramatically in recent years. A 2024 survey reveals that ** percent of Gen Z consumers discovered new products or brands through social media influencers, up from ** percent in 2023. This shift underscores the growing importance of digital platforms in shaping consumer behavior, particularly among younger demographics. Beauty and personal care e-commerce growth The rising impact of social media on Gen Z purchasing decisions aligns with broader trends in e-commerce, particularly in the beauty and personal care sector. Global revenue in this market is forecast to increase by ***** percent between 2024 and 2029, reaching a new peak of ****** billion U.S. dollars. This growth trajectory suggests that the digital landscape will continue to play a crucial role in consumer discovery and purchasing habits. Payment preferences among young consumers Traditional payment methods remain popular among Zoomers. A survey across North America, Europe, and Latin America found that debit and credit cards are still preferred by Gen Z for online shopping and travel bookings. However, younger consumers are showing a growing demand for diverse payment options, indicating potential shifts in the e-commerce landscape as digital wallets gain prominence, particularly in Asia-Pacific markets.