Gen Z And Customer Experience: Which Brands Are Winning?

Forbes

2 days ago

When it comes to Gen Z and customer experience, many brands are scrambling to connect. But one 60-year-old CEO, deploying TikTok partnerships and viral slogans like 'e.l.f.ing Amazing,' is unraveling the marketing mystery.
E.l.f. Beauty Is Cracking the Gen Z and Customer Experience Code
The slogan reflects the name: e.l.f. Beauty, where CEO Tarang Amin makes relating to Gen Z consumers and employees a top priority.
That means the $1.3 billion cosmetics company uses its massive social media fan base (7.5 million followers on Instagram and 2.4 million on TikTok) and insights from employees to figure out what the younger demographic wants.
The digital-native Gen Z cohort – generally considered 13 to 28-year-olds – reacted in droves in 2019 when e.l.f. mounted the first branded hashtag challenge on TikTok, spawning a song that reached more than one billion viewers.
The Oakland, Calif.-based company has sent slogans like 'e.l.f.ing Amazing' viral, and famously partnered with a TikToker, Oliver Widger, who quit his corporate job and sailed around the world with his cat. E.l.f. also focuses on being inclusive and encourages employee equity, both important to Gen Z.
'That connection is really important. Certainly with our Gen Z and millennial workforce—they absolutely eat it up,' Amin said told The Wall Street Journal for a recent profile.
The results: a Gen Z fan base known as 'e.l.f.ies' – and a recent ranking as the No. 1 cosmetics brand among female teens in a survey.
Perhaps best of all: With three quarters of employees being in their 20s and 30s, Amin says e.l.f. has never done a focus group 'because our team, they are our community.'
That's called listening to your customers – in this instance, through your employees.
E.l.f. Beauty's Appeal to Gen Z Reflects Broader Trends
As it reaches out to Gen Z, e.l.f. is reflecting broader trends and a growing body of research into what the younger set is seeking in customer experience.
It can be hard to tell at times. As marketers and other digital advertisers hone in on Gen Z because of its growing spending power, the age group has become known to some as 'the elusive generation.'
Like millennials, Gen Z members spend large quantities of time on social media sites and video platforms such as YouTube and Snapchat.
'Gen Z are bombarded with messages and are a generation that can quickly detect whether or not something is relevant to them,' according to marketing research firm Nielsen. 'So the use of addressable advertising and relevant content will be essential to quickly grabbing their attention before they move on to something else.'
That content is usually found online, according to a survey of 750 U.S. Gen Zs (ages 13-25), along with their millennial counterparts, by youth culture agency Archrival.
It showed that Gen Z learns about new brands through video more than any other platform, YouTube most of all, followed by TikTok and Instagram. Young people then tend to turn to social media as a search engine to research products.
With the surge of content coming their way, Gen Z wants to be inspired, experts say, and social media influencers are an important way to inspire them to make purchases.
On any online medium, Gen Z expects 'a frictionless, one-click experience' marked by personalized service and customization toward their personal preferences.
With their digital native background, Gen Z expects brands to meet them where they are, on their channel of choice, and to offer an empathetic experience marked by human interaction but also efficiency driven by artificial intelligence. Many members of this generation also favor brands that prioritize diversity and environmental and social issues.
Bath & Body Works Targets Teen Consumers
In addition to e.l.f, another Gen Z favorite is Bath & Body Works.
The customer experience approach to Gen Z followed by Bath & Body Works, and many other brands, can be summed up by a recent post on the Bath & Body Works website.
'Teens no longer just buy products, they're curating identities, moods, and self-care rituals,' it said. 'Instead of flipping through coupons, they're scrolling TikTok. Instead of shopping based on mass appeal, they follow their favorite creators, watch GRWM [Get Ready With Me] videos, and trust peer recommendations over polished campaigns.'
Indeed, as I often say in my keynote presentations: customer experience is the best marketing strategy because it drives word-of-mouth.
For its new fragrance 'Off the Vine,' for example, Bath & Body Works launched a social media campaign that began with Reddit leaks that sparked more than 700 comments and 25 million impressions.
'That's because the way we connect with teens outside the store has transformed. This new generation is digitally native, values-driven, and fiercely individual,' Maurice Cooper, chief customer officer at Bath & Body Works said of Off the Vine. 'We moved fast, turning buzz into a full-blown campaign that doubled the conversation to 50 million and gave us our most shared Instagram post of 2025 (second only to Disney).'
With research showing that 60 percent of Gen Z consumers 'prefer shopping in stores that provide unique experiences over conventional retail environments,' Bath & Body Works is also focused on in-store Gen Z customer experience.
The brand is reimagining its store spaces with Gen Z in mind, emphasizing bright colors and interactive displays that can be shared on social media, along with a highly personalized shopping experiences.
Bath & Body Works is also focusing on values important to the younger set, such as sustainability through refill stations and eco-friendly packaging.
Chipotle Is Back And All Over Social Media
Fast casual eatery Chipotle has mounted an impressive comeback after food safety scares in its past. The key: Young people, especially Gen Z.
'Chipotle is winning with Gen Z because Chipotle has the right offering [a healthier fast food option], at the right price point and they tend to reach Gen Z where they live — on social,' according to Jason Goldberg, Chief Commerce Strategy Officer at Publicis.
The chain's omnichannel marketing strategy has shown up all over social media, with influencer marketing initiatives including the Chipotle Creator Class challenge that provided perks to leading social influencers, and a partnership with TikTokkers Alexis Frost and Keith Lee to promote digital ordering.
On Snapchat, Chipotle also targeted Gen Z consumers with a Snapchat Lens and lineup of Lifestyle Bowls, available through the digital menu and designed to promote wellness. Chipotle rewarded 100,000 lens users with free guacamole.
The social media blitz and a focus on sustainable, healthy ingredients have made Chipotle 'popular among a growing base of Gen Z consumers.'
The Path Forward for Gen Z and Customer Experience
What lessons can be drawn from the customer experience needs of Gen Z – and the success of e.l.f, Bath & Body Works, Chipotle, and a variety of other brands in meeting them?
Two words: Adapt and listen.
These companies connected with Gen Z and then transformed their entire approach to customer experience to meet them where they are. e.l.f. turned their employees into their focus group. Bath & Body Works redesigned physical spaces for social shareability. Chipotle rebuilt trust through authentic social engagement after a major crisis. These moves represent the new standard for customer experience.
So what can your company do?
As these case studies prove, there truly is nothing more important in business than listening to your customers. The brands winning with Gen Z are the ones brave enough to let that listening transform everything they do.
And hey, if you really get stuck trying to figure out Gen Z and customer experience, just listen to your own teenagers and their friends.