398. What Gen Z wants: insights shaping the future of retail

Gen Z is rapidly becoming one of the most influential consumer groups in the marketplace. In this episode of Retail Gets Real, we hear from two guests who sit at the heart of this evolving landscape: Carly Berns, assistant vice president at Berns Communications Group and co-founder of The Z Suite, and Olivia Meyer, a Gen Z retail strategist and Z Suite member. Together, they explore what defines today’s youngest adult shoppers, how they influence retail trends and what retailers must do to stay relevant in a world where discovery, personalization and transparency reign supreme. (00:00:00) Introducing Gen Z’s growing influence on retail (00:04:00) How The Z Suite connects retailers with Gen Z (00:06:52) How Gen Z uses AI in the shopping journey (00:11:46) Why modern leaders can’t ignore social media (00:14:54) The future of retail: a 5–10 year outlook The National Retail Federation is the world’s largest retail trade association. Every day, we passionately stand up for the people, policies and ideas that help retail succeed. Resources: • Website: bernscommunications.com • Website: thez-suite.com • LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/carly-berns-057b89bb • LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/oliviagmeyer • Get ready for Retail’s Big Show in NYC • Become an NRF member and join the world’s largest retail trade association • Learn about our retail education platform, NRF Foundation, at nrffoundation.org • Learn about retail advocacy at nrf.com/advocacy • Find more episodes at retailgetsreal.com Related: • 388: How Gen Z is transforming retail trends on Pinterest • 385: Lessons from a young retail leader

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398. What Gen Z wants: insights shaping the future of retail is an episode from Retail Gets Real by National Retail Federation.

This episode is 19:41 long.

This episode was published on Dec 10, 2025.

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