• by Karl Greenberg , December 12, 2014

Failure is success, less is more, and lighter is better. Those ideals are driving younger consumers’ behavior, especially among the two-billion-strong Gen Z demographic, constituting 20% of the global population.

Ford’s third annual trend report, overseen by in-house futurist Sheryl Connelly, says that while Z shares traits with Y, the members of the former — in their teens and early 20s — are more sensitive to their options. In the new study, “Further With Ford 2015," Ford says if there's a mantra for Gen Z, it's "Good things come to those who act." 

And Gen Z is rethinking the idea of failure: it's not a negative, but a learning experience, and that experience is more important than education (79% of Japanese; 72% of Chinese; and 66% of Americans say so). And 63% of Chinese people under 35 say it is better to be a rebel than to follow rules. Forty-four percent of those in the U.S. say so.

Younger people will be burdened with fewer purses and wallets, assuming they don’t mind also losing some privacy. Ford’s study says that next year will bring an acceleration of a tech-driven movement toward carry-free culture, thanks to technologies like Bitcoin, Apple Pay, Google Wallet, subscription-based shopping services, and wearable gadgets supplanting physical keys. Ford notes that as of June last year there were 61 million active mobile money accounts globally, and by 2017 there will probably be 450 million people doing mobile payments. The report says Africa accounts for 52% of mobile money usage.

Here are some of the new mobile tech and baggage-free trends that Ford spotlights: Ring, the TechCrunch Tokyo winner, is a literal finger ring that controls devices and does things with a tap on the side; Blue Apron, Plated and HelloFresh are booming. The latter says its business, which it said accounted for 10 million deliveries in 2012, has quadrupled; Starwood Hotels & Resorts is the first in the category to let people unlock their doors with their phones, obviating plastic cards designed to be misplaced; Spain's La Caixa retail bank has wristbands that let you pay without a wallet. 

Yet Millennials and younger people want more privacy than those over 35. Seventy-eight percent of Millennials expressed a wish for privacy versus 59% of older consumers. But 56% of Millennials say they are willing to share their locations with companies to receive coupons, versus 42% of older consumers. About a quarter of Gen Z consumers say they post fake information on social channels to protect their identity. Americans are also suspicious. Fifty-five percent of Americans think they are being spied on by companies, versus 40% of Chinese.  

There is also a carry-less tendency when it comes to preference for access versus ownership. Ford's study says 64% of Americans think sharing lowers environmental impact and three-quarters think it saves money. About 37% of Gen Z and Millennial Americans said they chose to rent a product rather than purchase it. And three-quarters of adults around the world said they would rather have a few useful items then a lot of possessions.  

Gen Z is more global, entrepreneurial and cause-oriented, argues the report. They are slightly more likely to want to start a business and hire others than are Millennials. And both Millennials and Gen Z think there is too much pressure to decide on a career when you are young.