Gen Z Demands Brand Honesty in New Survey

A Statista report finds 93 percent of Gen Z consumers in the United States consider it important for brands to be honest.

Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Marketing

Gouache-painted editorial illustration of a cream mask with a crack revealing teal beneath, set against a dusty rose background. — Statista's Cracking Gen Z's Marketing Code report, based on YouGov research, found 93 percent of U.S. Gen Z consumers say brand honesty is important. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

Live Poll

Do you trust a company more when it is honest, even if its ads are not funny?

Statista published its Cracking Gen Z's Marketing Code report, based on YouGov research, finding that 93 percent of Generation Z consumers in the United States consider brand honesty important. The report also found that 92 percent value companies they can trust.

Why it matters

The findings suggest Gen Z expects brands to keep their messaging consistent with their actions. For marketers targeting U.S. consumers, trust and honesty appear to weigh more heavily than humor or creative messaging alone.

Among U.S. Gen Z consumers, 62 percent rate brand honesty as very important and another 31 percent rate it somewhat important, compared with 22 percent who rate a sense of humor very important. The report does not establish how these stated preferences translate into actual purchasing behavior.

The players

Statista

Statista is a German-founded statistics portal that publishes market research and consumer survey reports.

YouGov

YouGov is an international research data and analytics group known for online consumer polling.

The details

The Cracking Gen Z's Marketing Code report from Statista draws on YouGov research. It also found that 65 percent of young Americans appreciate companies that communicate a moral message, and 63 percent say they are more likely to buy from brands expressing opinions they agree with.

October 2025: Rare Beauty reached an estimated valuation of $2.7 billion, a brand cited in the report's context.

Market Landscape

The Cracking Gen Z's Marketing Code report from Statista ranks honesty above humor and creative messaging in U.S. Gen Z brand preferences. That ordering places trust at the center of how brands compete for younger consumers.

For brands competing for U.S. Gen Z shoppers, the report points to honesty as a baseline expectation rather than a differentiator. Companies whose messaging diverges from their actions may face skepticism from this audience.

The takeaway

Consistency between what a brand says and what it does appears to matter more to U.S. Gen Z consumers than clever messaging. Marketers may find that aligning words with actions builds more lasting trust than tone alone.