How Gen Z’s Brand Loyalty is Being Rewritten

A Generation of Pragmatic Consumer

YouthInsight’s newly released Top 100 Youth Brands Report 2025 paints a clear picture: Australia’s Gen Z are redefining brand loyalty in an era of financial strain. While cultural influence and digital entertainment still hold sway, with YouTube, Spotify, and Instagram still cemented in the top tier, the cost-of-living crisis has given practical, value-driven brands an edge.

Unlike the “aspirational consumer” model often associated with youth culture, today’s young Australians are making choices rooted in necessity. Student Edge co-founder Damien Langley summarised the shift: “Economic pressures have made affordability a higher priority… brands like KFC and Aldi have overtaken their main rivals by helping young people through these difficult high cost-of-living times.”

Affordability as a New Currency

Affordability has emerged as the new measure of brand value for young Australians.

One of the clearest indicators of this trend is the rise of Aldi, which now outpaces Woolworths and Coles as the supermarket of choice for young Australians. Aldi’s popularity (79% favourability) underscores a broader tilt toward cost-saving strategies, where value has become synonymous with brand trust.

Fast food shows a similar pattern. KFC (73% favourability) has overtaken McDonald’s, reversing a long-standing hierarchy in the youth market as young Australians recognise KFC’s ability to deliver perceived better value deals in a tight economic climate.

Australian Brands Holding Their Ground

Despite the strong showing of global players, the report highlights notable Australian success stories. Kmart, now the third most popular brand among Gen Z (83%), has positioned itself as both a retailer of essentials and a curator of lifestyle at accessible prices. From furnishing rental apartments to sourcing affordable fashion, Kmart meets the practical needs of a generation grappling with inflation and housing pressures.

Canva is another standout. The homegrown digital design platform (70%) ranks ahead of traditional creative software like Adobe (50%), reflecting its appeal as an intuitive, low-barrier tool. Its success underscores that if Australian brands combine affordability with accessibility, they can still compete with, and even outperform, international heavyweights.

Tech and Media

Unsurprisingly, digital platforms still dominate the overall rankings. YouTube maintains its crown with nine in ten young Australians rating it positively, while Spotify, Netflix, and Instagram remain cultural staples. Yet beyond this dominance, subtle shifts suggest changing attitudes.

Social media platforms - once the unrivalled epicentre of youth attention - are showing signs of decline. Legacy platforms such as Facebook, X, and Messenger have all fallen significantly, while Snapchat and Discord also slid in the rankings. While Instagram holds its ground at 80%, the broader picture reflects fatigue with platforms increasingly seen as cluttered, intrusive, or misaligned with Gen Z values.

At the same time, new digital tools are carving out space. ChatGPT, despite ongoing debates about AI and job security, has surged in youth favourability to 72%. Its utility across study, work, and creative projects places it ahead of more entertainment-focused apps like TikTok (58%) or Snapchat (53%). The popularity of Duolingo (53%) further illustrates Gen Z’s gravitation toward platforms that blend learning, productivity, and play.

Health, Beauty, and Everyday Essentials

In the health and beauty sector, the same value-conscious patterns emerge. Nivea (68%) has overtaken Dove, the 2023 winner, to become Gen Z’s top-rated brand in the industry. While Dove’s campaigns around inclusivity and representation resonated in the past, Nivea’s rise signals a pragmatic pivot, as value and accessibility now appear to outweigh brand narratives in determining youth favourability.

Similarly, Chemist Warehouse (78%) and other everyday retailers feature prominently in the Australian top 10, confirming that convenience and price continue to be decisive factors in brand reputation among young consumers.

What This Means for the Future of Youth Engagement

The Top 100 Youth Brands Report makes one thing clear: Gen Z brand loyalty in Australia is being reshaped by economic realities. While cultural influence and digital relevance still matter, affordability has emerged as the new measure of brand value.

For businesses, this carries critical implications. It suggests that long-term brand loyalty may hinge less on aspirational marketing and more on the ability to provide tangible, everyday benefits. Even brands that thrive on cultural cachet, like social media platforms, face mounting pressure if they fail to deliver value alongside engagement.

Equally, the success of Australian companies like Kmart and Canva highlights that local brands can flourish when they directly address young people’s lived realities.

As economic uncertainty persists, the question is whether these cost-driven shifts will prove temporary or recalibrate brand loyalties for an entire generation. If affordability continues to anchor decision-making, we may be witnessing not just a momentary adjustment but a structural change in the way young Australians define and reward their most trusted brands.