Direct-to-Consumer Brands Have a Gen Z Problem
Key Takeaways
Compared to older generations, Gen Zers are less favorable towards a group of major D2C brands, are less likely to consider the brands a good value, and are less likely to be considering purchasing from them.
Purchasing consideration for the brands has dropped 19 points since early 2025 among Gen Z adults.
Among the major D2C brands in the group, Gen Z’s net promoter scores are generally lower for apparel and accessories companies than those in other categories.
While direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands have been around for many years, they gained popularity through the 2010s and skyrocketed in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, these brands are entering a new phase of maturity, marked by a shift from aggressive growth to a focus on sustainable profitability.
As they move forward, though, D2C brands face significant challenges resonating with Gen Z — a key demographic whose purchasing power will only continue to grow over time.
D2C brands suffer on all key metrics with Gen Z
Among a group of nine major D2C brands tracked by Morning Consult Intelligence across multiple categories, from apparel and accessories to pet care, awareness lags for Gen Z adults compared with consumers in other generations. While just over half (52%) of millennials are aware of the brands in the group, for example, only 43% of Gen Z adults are. And despite D2C brands often being pegged as appealing more to younger consumers, Gen Z also has lower awareness than Gen Xers (48%) and baby boomers (44%).
That said, when they are aware of the brands, Gen Zers are far more likely than other generations to actually have purchased from them. Nearly half (48%) of Gen Z adults say they’re users of the D2C companies, compared with 42% of millennials, 31% of Gen Xers and only 15% of baby boomers. What this suggests is that, while awareness could be improved, conversion into trial is not necessarily an issue that these brands need to address.
Gen Zers who have heard of D2C brands are more likely than other generations to have purchased from them
The biggest problem is that, once they do purchase products from these companies, Gen Zers are comparatively underwhelmed by the experience — across all major metrics, they rate the brands in the group more negatively than their older counterparts. While it’s true that Gen Zers are, as a generation, more skeptical than other generations, the gaps in trust, favorability and purchasing consideration are notable and suggest that they’re influenced by more than just the standard Gen Z cynicism.
D2C brands falter with Gen Zers on major brand metrics
While more than half (54%) of Gen Zers who have purchased from the brands have a favorable opinion of them, that’s 15 points less than millennials, 18 points less than baby boomers and 21 points below Gen Xers. The same is true for perceptions of brand value: Gen Zers are at least 16 points less likely than all other generations to say the brands in the group are a “good value.”
But most concerning is a similar gap in purchasing consideration: While Gen Zers are more likely than other generations to be users of these brands, they’re 9 points more likely to say they’re not considering a purchase than millennials. This matters for brands because it suggests that, when it comes to D2C brands, Gen Zers may be one-and-done consumers. In other words, brand loyalty and retention are shaky, and brands can’t count on past purchase behavior as a predictor of future purchases.
Purchasing consideration is declining amongst Gen Z
Poor purchasing consideration compared with other generations is cause enough for concern, but there’s also a worrying trend in this metric over time for Gen Zers. While net purchasing consideration (the share of consumers who say they’re planning on purchasing from a brand or company minus the share who say they are not) has declined overall by a few points for U.S. adults in general, the dropoff has been much more steep for Gen Z. Net purchasing consideration is now 14, down from 33 earlier in 2025.
Gen Zers are becoming less likely to consider purchasing from D2C brands
While a range of factors may drive this change, the same decline in purchasing consideration is not reflected amongst Gen Zers for other major non-D2C brands tracked by Morning Consult. Brand groups, including key players in retail, hospitality and restaurants, for example, have remained relatively steady over this period, suggesting true cracks in the foundation for this key demographic of D2C consumers.
Apparel and accessories brands are struggling more than others
While these patterns hold for D2C brands in general, there are some nuances to consider across categories. When the nine brands in the group are broken out individually, the net promoter scores vary. (NPS is the share of respondents who say they would recommend a given brand minus the share who say they would not.)
One surprising takeaway is that while Gen Zers may love their fashion, D2C clothing and accessories brands are faring relatively poorly with them. Of the three brands in the group, only one has a positive NPS. Even then, it pales in comparison to that of millennials. In fact, aside from the top-performing D2C brand, a pet care company, all brands receive lower net promoter scores from Gen Zers than from millennials, with several skewing negative, while they still sit in positive numbers for millennial shoppers.
Millennials are more likely to recommend D2C brands than Gen Zers
The combination of all of these metrics — lower awareness, favorability, value perception, and purchasing consideration, as well as NPS — should paint a worrying picture for D2C brands when it comes to their Gen Z customers.
Sign up to get the latest global brand, media and marketing news and analysis delivered to your inbox every morning.
Lindsey Roeschke is an analyst whose work focuses on behavior and expectations of consumers in the travel & hospitality and food & beverage categories, particularly through a generational and cultural lens. Prior to joining Morning Consult, she served as a director of consumer and culture analysis at Gartner. In addition to her research and advisory background, Lindsey has more than a decade of experience in the advertising world. She has lived and worked in seven cities across four continents.
