Why Gen Z’s offline habits are starting to shape spending
While younger generations aren't exactly ditching their smartphones completely, they are embracing a more tactile and disconnected approach to some areas of life. Emma Thompson, Head of Agency at Golley Slater, look at why.
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For a generation raised through feeds, notifications and social comparison, switching off has started to look less like retreat and more like control.
Gen Z and younger Millennials are still deeply digital, but a noticeable part of their spending is moving towards products and experiences that create a bit of distance from the screen. That shift is easy to dismiss as nostalgia; film cameras, wired headphones and book clubs all bring back older formats and slower rituals. Yet the appeal is not simply about wanting the past back. For many young adults, these choices offer a practical way to make everyday life feel less measured and less shaped by constant performance.
Gen Z and younger Millennials are still deeply digital, but a noticeable part of their spending is moving towards products and experiences.
Across different categories, this is starting to look like a wider analogue revival. YouGov research has found that 81% of UK adults actively try to take care of themselves emotionally, while younger consumers are increasingly looking for small ways to spend time away from devices.
Above: Kodak's Charmera, released last year, is an example of how analogue products are coming to the fore.
Offline doesn't mean anti-tech
The analogue revival should not be read as a sudden rejection of technology. Most young people are not abandoning smartphones, streaming platforms or social media. The more interesting behaviour is selective disconnection.
A film camera changes the feeling of taking a picture because there is more intention behind each shot. Wired headphones make listening feel a little more contained, without the same sense of being pulled back into everything else happening on a phone. That distinction stops the trend being treated as a retro gimmick. The appeal sits in control, attention and physicality. Younger consumers are spending on products that help them reclaim certain moments from the pressures that usually surround digital life.
Most young people are not abandoning smartphones, streaming platforms or social media. The more interesting behaviour is selective disconnection.
Film photography is a good example. Eastman Kodak has resumed direct sales of consumer photographic film for the first time in more than a decade, responding to renewed demand among younger consumers. The launch of Kodak Charmera [above], a blind-box mini film camera, also shows how analogue products can be made collectible and playful for a generation that understands drops, surprise and social sharing.
The camera itself is only part of the appeal. People like the waiting, the imperfect results and the sense that each picture has a bit more weight behind it. It still ends up on social, but the process feels different enough to make it worth talking about.
Above: While Gen Z are not ditching their phones, they are seeing the appeal of more physical products for note-taking and journaling.
Self-care is becoming more tactile
Journals and diaries are having a similar moment. Some people use them to organise their week, but the appeal often goes beyond planning. The choice of paper, stickers, tape, pens and handwritten details makes the habit feel personal in a way a notes app rarely does.
Search interest for terms such as 'custom notebook', 'custom diary' and 'personalised diary' peaked in late 2025, suggesting stationery is becoming part of a wider appetite for tactile self-expression. The timing is interesting because physical stationery retail has also become more limited, with the closure of familiar high street names such as Paperchase, Staples and Wilko leaving fewer obvious places to browse in person.
Hobbycraft’s 2025 report found that pottery kit sales nearly doubled, while searches for pottery painting rose by more than 300%.
That leaves room for retailers to make stationery feel worth browsing again. A notebook is easy enough to buy online, but much of the appeal sits in the small physical details: how the paper feels, how the cover looks, and whether it feels like something someone would actually want to carry around or give as a gift.
The same principle applies across craft and hands-on hobbies. Hobbycraft’s 2025 report found that pottery kit sales nearly doubled, while searches for pottery painting rose by more than 300%, pointing to a growing appetite for hobbies that feel creative, social and screen-light.
Above: Demand for wired headphones among younger people has risen.
Single-purpose products are gaining emotional value
One of the more interesting parts of the analogue revival is the renewed appeal of single-purpose devices. Smartphones are efficient because they collapse everything into one screen. That efficiency can also make them exhausting.
Search demand for older iPod models has risen, including increased interest in classic models and Nanos. Wired headphones have also seen renewed momentum, with some retailers reporting sharp sales growth in products such as wired Beats Solo 4. These products are not winning purely because they look retro, they give people a way to use technology with fewer distractions attached.
The analogue revival is still small in places. Yet it captures a wider mood that brands should pay attention to.
Young consumers are responding to products that help them feel more present; design, packaging and cultural references can help, but the product still has to serve a real emotional need.
The analogue revival is still small in places, and it will not affect every category in the same way. Yet it captures a wider mood that brands should pay attention to. Younger consumers are spending on things that feel tangible, creative and personally useful.
