Gen Z economist Kyla Scanlon has emerged as a leading theorist on this, writing on her viral Substack that ​“the most valuable commodity in the world is friction.” She argues that micro-frictions make people’s lives richer as we’re collecting veering in the opposite direction: apps serve up everything from dating to DoorDash, papers write themselves, and we’re now able to hang out with friends remotely through VR Goggles.

It’s no coincidence that this shift towards friction and inefficiency is coming at the very same time that AI is promising next-level ease. While Gen Zs are adopting AI more than older generations, they’re also more concerned that people will lose the ability to do things on their own because of AI, including thinking creatively and problem-solving, according to Pew.

Our research corroborated this. Many Zs tell us that shopping feels more fulfilling — and frankly more fun — when they exercise their personal agency, taking the time to make more mindful, intentional choices. Case in point: 72% of Gen Zs say they would rather shop from a store, app, or platform that enables them to define their own taste, rather than one that tells them what’s cool and what to buy. Gen Zs are leading a cultural correction as they shift their attention towards experiences that are slightly more difficult, and more real.

Increasingly, their purchasing decisions are driven less by brand status and more by the promise of an emotional pay-off — whether that’s a mood boost, a sense of delight, or a fleeting moment of joy. These positive emotional returns stand in stark contrast to the doom, guilt, and regret they so often feel while scrolling and shopping on social media (for more on this, see our article ​“Shopping Isn’t Fun Anymore”). 

What’s lacking, for many Zs, also appears to be the product pay-off itself. Product quality today is frequently disappointing, a concern that surfaced consistently in our research. 70% of Zs say they can assess a product’s quality simply by looking at it, and two-thirds believe products available today are lower quality than those sold a decade ago. As a result, the emotional satisfaction of the product alone no longer delivers what it once did.

Gen Z’s craving for dopamine hits helps explain their continued devotion to physical shopping experiences. Although they readily acknowledge that shopping via social media is easier than shopping in-store, the majority say in-person retail delivers something digital commerce cannot: a genuine emotional hit. IRL shopping is perceived as more fun (52%), more luxurious (60%), and more akin to a special occasion (64%). And Zs are notably optimistic about the future of physical retail. While the majority of Millennials say malls are on their way out, slightly more than half of Zs (54%) believe they’re here to stay.

Dupes, for example, have become a source of pride for Zs, proof that they have enough referential knowledge and creativity to score a great deal. Case in point: Gen Zs are nearly 3X more likely to say they’d rather own a Walmart ​‘Wirkin’ bag than the Hermès Birkin its design is based off of. (Even luxury shoppers said they’d rather have the Walmart version.)

The toys are cute, but the real draw is the thrill of not knowing exactly what you’re going to get and the dopamine hit of unboxing a surprise. Nick, 20, recently bought a Labubu on TikTok Shop. ​“I thought it would just be fun to open it, and see what I get,” he told us. Streetwear designer-turned-VP of Creative for Disney, Bobby Hundreds, wrote recently on LinkedIn, ​“Shopping has become so transactional and convenient, that it’s stripped of fun and surprise… The secret to cutting through the noise, these days, is capitalizing on SURPRISE: it toys with our anxieties and stokes the imagination, it gamifies commerce and inspires FUN.”

The magic of ​“special occasion retail” is spreading fast. Brand events and activations that deliver an in-person thrill have become a magnet for this generation. As Nick, 20, in Chicago told us, ​“With the rise of social media, your brand really has to do a lot more to stick out. A really cool branded experience can be a lot more alluring to customers than even a great product.” ​“Valentino Beauty had a double decker bus that was really cool!,” says Kelly, 21, from New York City. “(The e‑vehicle Afeela) had an area where you could play the PS4 as if you were driving the car, and a DJ playing really good music,” says Brian, 25, in Los Angeles. Next-gen retailers are going all-in — and unhinged — to capture Gen Z’s attention. Complex New York, for example, recently drew crowds with an Eminem ​“Stan” look-alike contest. When it works, the pay-off goes both ways: 72% of Zs who have attended an in-person brand event or activation say it’s made them view the brand more positively.

For Gen Z, the queue itself — whether for a pop-up, sample sale, or flagship store — becomes a fun cultural moment, rather than an inconvenience. More than half of Zs (57%) say they prefer brands loved by a tight-knit community over those that are merely widely popular, so lining up alongside fellow brand fans transforms a long wait into an opportunity for connection.

At a recent Soho pop-up for viral brand, Parke, nearly a thousand young women waited up to six hours to buy mockneck sweatshirts and denim rompers — long enough to make new friends and build up the hype together. Wait times at The Row’s recent sample sale exceeded eight hours, and fueled a TikTok explosion as attendees documented their deals and hauls. Meanwhile, London streetwear brand Corteiz turned its latest drop into a U.S. tour of one-day-only pop-ups in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., New York City, and Atlanta, with exact locations announced just hours before the event.

And when the purchase finally happens, it’s more than just a transaction. Each item is embedded with stories: the hunt for treasure, the belonging found among fellow shoppers, and the high that comes with the ultimate score. Nick in Chicago says he’s still talking about a brand event he stumbled upon more than a year ago. ​“I bring it up all the time,” he says. ​“I’m like, ​‘Do you remember when we just happened to walk into Arc’teryx and got clothes and a bunch of Christmas gifts because it was all 50% off?!’” That’s real pay-off: the hit of material-world magic breaking through today’s digital-first age.