What: A critical approach to how young customers are perceived.

Why it is important: It is easy and tempting to label generations and try to make them fit into patterns, but is it useful and true?

The Economist suggests that much of what is written about marketing to today's most prized consumers, millennials and Gen Z, is a myth.

The idea that Gen Z is glued to smartphones and slavishly follows the latest hype from Instagram or TikTok is not entirely true. Social media has changed the ways in which people discover brands, but it has also undermined the power of marketing as a whole. It is getting harder to build brand loyalty as young consumers can fact-check marketing claims and easily find cheaper prices online.

The article also suggests that physical shops still matter and that the best approach is a seamless combination of the digital and physical worlds.

The idea that all young customers are social justice warriors is also untrue. Gen Z cares less for consumer boycotts than older generations and many still buy cheap "fast-fashion" clothes to wear once and then throw away.

The article concludes that the key to success is avoiding hypocrisy, committing only to causes that can be tangibly supported, and being honest about putting profits first.

How to sell to the young