By By Business Express Reporter
Kenyan businesses—especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs) targeting younger consumers—are being urged to urgently rethink their marketing strategies, as fresh data reveals that social media has become the primary shopping destination for Generation Z, fundamentally reshaping the country’s retail landscape.
The transformation is powered by seamless in-app purchasing and Gen Z’s strong preference for authentic, relatable content over conventional advertising.
Recent global research shows that social platforms are now the top product discovery channel for Gen Z, who were born roughly between 1997 and 2012. In 2024 alone, 68 percent of Gen Z consumers worldwide discovered new products on TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube, a sharp jump from 60 percent the year before.
Crucially, product discovery often converts instantly to purchase. Data shows that 58 percent of Gen Z placed orders directly through social apps in 2024, bypassing traditional websites and brick-and-mortar stores altogether.
This global trend is mirrored in Kenya’s digital economy. The Communications Authority of Kenya reported 22.7 million internet users by March 2024, a figure bolstered by widespread smartphone adoption. A Business Daily Africa review found that over 60 percent of Kenyan internet users regularly engage with social media sellers, confirming how deeply entrenched social commerce has become locally.
“Gen Z shops where they scroll; for them, social media is the store,” analysts now observe. Unlike older generations, their buying journey is non-linear. Viral videos, influencer posts, and user-generated content increasingly replace search engines or store visits, while integrated storefronts built directly into apps turn casual browsing into instant transactions.
For this cohort, trust is currency, and it is built in new ways. Nearly 80 percent of Gen Z say they trust influencers who share real experiences, while more than 60 percent cite user-generated content and peer reviews as the most important purchase drivers. On the other hand, glossy, traditional advertising has far less influence.
Brands such as Glossier illustrate this shift, generating over 70 percent of sales from peer-driven recommendations and micro-influencer collaborations that create authentic, community-focused content.
For Kenyan SMEs seeking relevance in this space, experts recommend focusing on community-building and transparency, rather than polished, one-way campaigns. Practical strategies include involving customers in product development (for instance, voting on new designs), fostering conversations in comment sections, and owning up to mistakes openly to strengthen trust.
Speed and agility are also critical. Brands must track trends in real time and act quickly, even if that means sacrificing polish for cultural relevance. Equally, working with authentic local creators who can translate brand values into culturally resonant stories is emerging as a winning strategy.
Meanwhile, Kenya’s wider tech scene is also drawing global recognition. In a separate but related development, 15 Kenyan startups have been admitted into Google’s “AI First” Accelerator Program, a prestigious initiative for seed-to-Series A companies leveraging Artificial Intelligence to solve pressing challenges.
The three-month hybrid program provides mentorship from Google engineers, technical resources, workshops on AI and business growth, as well as access to global investor networks. The selected startups span critical sectors, including agriculture (FarmWorks AI), healthcare (Dawa Health), and financial services (Taimba, WayaWaya), with innovations ranging from AI-powered market access tools to diagnostic solutions and conversational banking platforms.
Google emphasized that these companies were chosen for their ability to develop AI-driven solutions rooted in African realities, with the potential to scale globally while spurring job creation at home.
Together, these developments reflect a larger shift in Kenya’s economic story. On one hand, Gen Z is forcing businesses to meet them on the platforms they live on—TikTok, Instagram, YouTube—where authenticity and convenience drive purchasing decisions. On the other, the country’s tech innovators are gaining a foothold in the global AI economy, positioning Kenya as both a retail and technology frontier in Africa.
— By Nusurah Nuhu
