60% of Gen Z and 62% of Millennials believe how you present yourself online is more important than how you present yourself in person.
That’s according to a Squarespace and The Harris Poll online study of over 2,000 US adults, which found that about one in two Americans (49%) say they can remember the color of a website better than someone’s eye color – and 71% of Millennials agree, compared to 58% of Gen Zers.
“The majority of Gen Z believe that how you present yourself online is more important than how you present yourself in person – and while 92% of Gen Z are typically multitasking with other activities while browsing the web, they’re also more likely to remember the color of a website than someone’s eye color,” says Kinjil Mathur, Chief Marketing Officer at the website builder and e-commerce platform, Squarespace.
“Americans browse over 3,000 websites a year, and our research shows that the things we see online can make a more lasting impression than things we see in person. This is why it’s so important to create a well-designed presence across all the things you do on the web.”
The survey found that nearly half (44%) of Gen Z and 39% of Millennials think they make a better impression online than they do in person, compared to 21% of Gen X and 8% of Baby Boomers.
The study also found that Gen Z are more likely to remember off the top of their head the last website they visited (43%) than their partner’s birthday (38%) or their social security number (31%).
Gen Z is the most ambitious entrepreneurial generation according to the study: the vast majority (92%) of Gen Zers saying they would start their own business, compared to 86% of Millennials, 74% of Gen X and 50% of Baby Boomers.
As the world shifts increasingly towards digital forums, more than half (57%) of Americans believe that a well-designed online store or website is more important for a business to have than a brick-and-mortar location.