Gen Z's unique treat commitment
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For younger Americans, the way to transform an everyday food item into a memorable experience is to wait in line for it.
Why it matters: Increasingly, the wait in line for food is an important and integral part of the experience.
By the numbers: A new survey from The New Consumer and Coefficient Capital finds that 60% of Gen Z Americans have stood in line for 30 minutes or more, over the past year, to eat a specific food or at a specific restaurant.
- Was it worth it? 92% of them said yes, and 74% said they'd do it again.
- Among Gen Z and Millennials, 60% said they were likely to share a photo or video of their "fun food experience" on social media.
What they're saying: "There's a performative element to this," Dan Frommer, publisher of The New Consumer, tells Axios. "You do it for the 'gram, and also to be part of some sort of cultural moment."
Flashback: A 2011 paper in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science found that waiting in line can "increase, rather than decrease, both purchase intentions and actual experienced satisfaction."
- Lines, especially if they're on the street rather than inside the store, act as a form of marketing, signaling to physical and digital observers that the goods being sold are worth waiting for.
- In the age of TikTok, influencers can demonstrate their enviable lifestyle by showing how their residence in a trending city gives them the opportunity to stand in line to buy the bagel of the moment.
Between the lines: Making it to the front of a queue confers bragging rights. The folks at the front of the line feel envied — which in turn can enhance the whole experience of eating out.
The bottom line: If good things come to those who wait, then waiting must mean that a good thing is about to transpire.
Editor's note: This story has been corrected to note the paper in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science came out in 2011 (not 2010).
