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Zillennials, or Zennials, is a social cohort encompassing people born on the Cusper of or during the latter years of the Millennials generation and the early years of Generation Z. Sources typically give ranges of those born around the mid-to-late 1990s, from 1993 to 1999. What Are Zillennials? The Micro-Generation No One Talks About., Trill Mag Their adjacency between the two generations and limited age set has led to their characterization as a "micro-generation". They are generally the children of younger baby boomers and older Generation X. Estimates of the U.S. population in this cohort range from 30 million to 48 million.
The exact date range of this micro-generation is not specifically defined. Dictionary.com defines "zillennial"
/ref> Authors Hannah Ubl, Lisa Walden, and Debra Arbit define the cuspers as those born between 1992 and 1998, as does Mary Everett ( PopSugar). A WGSN case study on the cohort similarly notes this date range. Ketchum defines GenZennials as those born from 1992 to 2000. Boston University sociologist Deborah Carr defines zillennials as those born "roughly" between 1992 and 2002.
Others have defined zillennials as those born from 1993 to 1998, including Deon Smit ( HR Future), Maisy Farren ( Vice), Lindsay Dogson ( Business Insider), Charlotte Hilton Andersen ( Reader's Digest), Maddy Mussen (Evening Standard), Louis Ashworth ( Financial Times), Britannica and MetLife. Fullscreen defines the cusp group as those born from approximately 1993 to 1999 in their research. Likewise, authors Fons Trompenaars and Peter Woolliams use the years 1993 to 1999 as Zennials. Author Mary Donahue defines the cuspers as those born from 1995 to 2000.
A 2024 survey conducted by YouGov among 13,083 U.S. adults found that 31 percent of millennials relate to their own generation the most, while 19 percent relate to Gen Z. On the other hand, 31 percent of Gen Zers relate to their own generation the most, while 15 percent relate to millennials. The survey also found that most millennials and Gen Zers do not consider themselves to be part of the generation they're officially a part of.
Members of this cohort were children in the 2000s, during events such as the 9/11 terrorist attacks. They came of age in the 2010s, with the Brexit referendum and U.S. presidential election of 2016, COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020–2021 George Floyd protests being key formative events. They remember life in the early 2000s before , then experienced the sudden global Digital Revolution of the late 2000s and 2010s, navigating mobile LTE internet, cell phones, mobile devices and .
Zillennials Code-switching between generations, have high levels of digital literacy, and are more likely to self-identify into a minority group. They are less wealthy but more Job security than Generation Z, commanding relatively high spending power in the U.S. economy, especially when compared to millennials. They also have high brand loyalty, low price sensitivity, and stable purchasing patterns.
Maddy Mussen, writing for Evening Standard, said that zillennials grew up in a world shaped "for the better" by millennials, "body positivity, sex positivity, and fourth-wave feminism were all reaching a peak during our formative years."
Zillennials are seen as a bridge between the digital pioneers of the early internet (millennials) and the "internet natives" of Gen Z according to a definition made by Trusted Media Brands.
Jason Dorsey, president of The Center for Generational Kinetics, described zillennials as "equal parts idealistic and skeptical, analog roots with digital instincts" and that "they probably remember life before smartphones, but not before the internet."
Zillennials are cultural hybrids of both millennials and Gen Z according to a definition from Power Thesaurus. ZILLENNIAL Definition & Meaning – Explained Abercrombie & Fitch noted a target demographic of 25 to 29 year olds in 2022 as having "a bit of both Gen Z and millennial mentality". They rebranded between 2020 and 2022 to capitalize around what they perceived to be the micro-generation's ethos: fulfillment and self-actualization. The brand identified zillennials and their usage of TikTok as being a major cultural exporter.
Many Zillennials are nostalgic for the popular culture and technology of the 2000s, such as the Harry Potter franchise, SpongeBob SquarePants, Zillennials: Understanding the Generation Caught Between Millennials and Gen Z Game Boy Advance, Neither Gen Z nor Millennials, are Zillennials a thing? Nintendo DS, and Disney Channel shows such as Lizzie McGuire and That's So Raven.
Mia Galuppo, writing for The Hollywood Reporter, said that many viewers of the live-action Lilo and Stitch were Zillennials. She noted that "nostalgia as entertainment, intentional or not, is nothing new. But it has not yet been fully exploited for the Zillennial age demographic, which is now one of the largest age groups in the U.S." Data collected by Disney and PostTrak showed that moviegoers between ages 25 and 34 made up 33 percent of the film's non-family audience.
Author Benjamin Crace, in his book titled The American Blockbuster: Movies That Defined Their Generations, says that zillennials "have grown up with a steady dose of the supernatural in Popular culture (vampires, witches, zombies) to a point where it has become somewhat normalized."
A 2024 report made by Parrot Analytics, a leading global entertainment analytics company, says that "the share of shows with strongly Zennial skewing audiences sometimes tracks more closely with Gen Z and sometimes with millennials which can make it difficult to tease out unique content tastes for this cohort" but that they are particularly fond of Romance film (31%) over Animation, Horror film and Western film.
A report from Bank of America found in 2020 that zillennials carry outsized influence in financial markets due to their shifting consumer preferences away from "meat, alcohol and cars." Payment processing researcher PYMNTS conducted a study on this cohort of U.S. consumers in 2023. They are nearly identical to Generation Z when it comes to work habits, preferring similar levels of remote work, social connection, and app platform usage. They grew up during the tail end of the 2000s hustle-culture that prioritised career success, while also being influenced by their Gen Z peers’ more relaxed approach to work. They hold a dual citizenship of sorts.
Zillennials have higher brand loyalty and less price sensitivity than millennials, leading to more stable purchasing patterns. 75% of zillennials shop both online and in-store, blending digital convenience with the tactile benefits of physical stores and 72% of them are more influenced by trusted sources like friends or family than by traditional advertising when it comes to what drives their purchasing decisions. Zillennials are discerning shoppers, many place a high value on social and environmental factors when picking where to shop.
A 2025 online survey of 1,089 U.S. adults conducted by Arrivia, a travel loyalty technology provider, found that zillennials are emerging as a high-potential audience, with growing income and specific travel preferences. Nearly half live at home with their parents (48%) while reporting household incomes of $100,000 or more (41%), giving them more flexibility to spend on travel. Compared to the survey average, zillennials are nearly twice as likely to travel internationally. They also showed a higher interest than both Gen Z and millennials in bundled packages that include a cruise, hotel and airfare.
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Zillennials believe in Climate change and efforts to mitigate climate change, with many identifying as eco-conscious.
Zillennials actively participated in the 2020–2021 George Floyd protests which were the largest series of protests against police brutality in the United States (alongside international protests) since the Civil Rights Movement.
According to authors Hannah Ubl, Lisa Walden and Debra Arbit, what really divides Millennial/Gen Edge (Gen Z) cuspers from the Millennial bunch is their use of technology and social media, "while Millennials may pride themselves on their know-how of social media, the Millennial/Edger cuspers are social media mavens."
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