How does Gen Z choose its favorite retailers, and who are they?

Sam’s Club, Forever 21, Chick-fil-A, and Walmart are among the favorites. Where else are they shopping in 2024?

Sam’s Club reports its Gen Z memberships are up 63%, the most growth of any generation. This age group’s frugality is one possible reason. If so, where else does Gen Z shop?

For post-pandemic Gen Zers, “clubbing” has become more about prices than partying, and Sam’s Club is here to take their cover charge.

Walmart executives in late June told analysts that Gen Z, those ages 12 to 27 (1997 to 2012), now represent the largest growth category of its Sam’s Club warehouse chain. Memberships among the age group are up 63% over two years. (Members must be at least 18.) Sam’s counted an estimated 70 million members in early 2023, according to PYMNTS.)

Millennial (1981 to 1996) memberships, meanwhile, rose by 14%, according to a report in Retail Dive.

Data by Statista backs up this trend: 23% of consumers between 18 and 28 shopped Sam’s Club regularly as of March 2024, compared with 20% of those between 30 and 49 and 19% of those 50 and older.

Consumer analysts suggest that price value is a big reason why. Having weathered the Great Recession of 2007 to 2009, the Covid-19 pandemic and record price inflation, Zoomer consumers are extraordinarily cost conscious.

But there are other possible factors at play here. And these factors help determine which other retailers Gen Zers prefer.

Adding Up Gen Z Preferences and Habits

Members of Gen Z (many of whom are still under 18) generate an estimated $360 billion in annual U.S. spending. By household, that breaks down to roughly $10,600 a year, at $33 per trip, Numerator reports.

This indicates they make a lot of trips, and they do–342 a year per household.

On each of these trips, that $33 is spent carefully, because 47% of Gen Z earn less than $40,000 a year. Such frugality might be why Sam’s Club in early July offered to enroll new members for just $25 – half the price of its basic membership.

Other characteristics also determine where, what and how much Zoomers buy. Just 30% have kids, for example, making for smaller–if not different–shopping baskets, Numerator reports.

Lastly, Gen Zers intuitively mesh online and in-person activities, so they’re fast to adapt in-store technologies that eliminate friction points. This includes Sam’s Club Scan & Go app. According to Walmart, one in three Sam’s Club members now regularly use the app to skip the checkout line.

How does Costco compare? Keep reading.

But Gen Z Doesn’t Only Shop at Sam’s Club

Still, Gen Zers buy more than inexpensive groceries and Sam’s Member’s Mark private label goods. With extreme cost consciousness and fluid tech influencing their choices, where else do Zoomers shop? Here’s what some of the latest research reveals:

Zooming Through Fashion

Following are the four leading fashion chains among Gen Z in 2023, based on a Statista analysis:

1. Forever 21: The fast-fashion chain attracts 53% of this age group, suggesting that low prices and its fast digital checkout outmatch Gen Z’s preference for sustainable clothing.
2. H&M: Another fast-fashion brand, H&M is preferred by 47% of Gen Z. Here, H&M’s sustainability efforts might add to its appeal, as well as its easy digital shopping.
3. Old Navy: The chain is popular among 43% of Gen Z for its prices as well as its retro ‘90s styles and gender-neutral choices (plus it sells school uniforms).
4. J.C. Penney: Surprise! The department store chain attracts 40% of all Gen Z. A TikTok feed of its 1990s catalog (read: retro) might have something to do with it.

Also on the list:

Abercrombie & Fitch: Tied at 16^th place with Belk department stores, a regional chain. Both get the thumbs-up by 23% of Gen Z.

Primark: The U.K. retailer, which operates limited U.S. locations and no shoppable U.S. website, ranks best among 17% of Gen Z, tied with the online men’s brand Jack & Jones.

Zara: The Spanish value-priced chain, with roughly 100 U.S. locations and super-teensy online type, ranked last (20^th). Just 15% of Gen Zers prefer it.

Zooming Through General MerchandiZe

When it comes to consumer packaged goods and general merchandise, it’s worth noting that 64% of Gen Zers say they buy store brands “always or frequently,” according to Chain Store Age. Nearly half, 51%, choose where they shop because of those brands.

The top three general merchandise stores Gen Z prefer to shop, tracked by the 2024 Numerator report:

1. Walmart: Based on Numerator’s numbers, 21% of Gen Z shoppers say Walmart is their favorite gen-merch store. This is a smaller share than Gen Zers who shop Sam’s Club, based on separate research, but perhaps the club atmosphere feels more like “adulting,” and the prices are probably better.
2. Amazon: One in 10 Gen Zers default to Amazon for their general merchandise. This could be a head-scratcher, until considering that the sheer volume of choices on Amazon can make for lengthy shopping trips.
3. Target: Just 8% of Gen Z put Target first for general merchandise. Still, that 8% is twice that of the general population who chooses Target for general merchandise, Numerator reports.

Zooming Through Food and Drink

Considering they can get a hot dog-drink combo for $1.38 at Sam’s Club, it’s not surprising that 42% of Gen Z list “value” as the leading reason for returning to a restaurant, according to the Food Institute.

Among their favorite quick-serve chains, listed by the Gen Z magazine Woke Waves:

1. Chick-fil-A: The “Eat Mor Chikin” chain might not beat KFC on price, but ingredient quality and speed could make up for the difference.
2. McDonald’s: As one could predict, Mickey D’s is favored for its prices. Gen Z also likes its reliable menu and many, many locations.
3. Taco Bell: Innovation might explain this chain’s popularity. Taco Bell often tests creative, TikTok-ready menu items, including vegetarian options (28% of Gen Z are vegetarian or vegan). Burger King, which offers a plant-based Impossible Whopper, ranks fifth.
4. Wendy’s: Woke Waves magazine credits the burger chain’s edgy social campaigns, as well as its fresh (not frozen) beef, for its Gen Z appeal.

Where’s Starbucks? Gen Z does like the coffee chain, which ranks ninth on Woke’s list, but its prices might be too high for some.There is an opportunity to win them over, however: Gen Z is still the largest U.S. consumer group of specialty coffee, Investopedia has reported.

What About Costco?

Logic suggests that if cost-conscious Gen Z consumers are joining Sam’s Club, then a good share are signing up for Costco, as well.

Sure enough, they are – 28% of consumers ages 18 to 29 shopped Costco for groceries as of March 2024, Statista reveals. The rival warehouse club counts 128 million members in total.

Unclear is whether Gen Z membership growth at Sam’s Club is outpacing that of Costco. Here’s something that might determine the difference: both retailers sell rotisserie chickens for less than $5. Which is better? Hmmm.

Put on your best dad sneakers, and let’s go clubbing!

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This article originally appeared in Forbes.