College 2025: How the COVID Generation Shops, Spends, and Connects with Brands
College 2025: How the COVID Generation Shops, Spends, and Connects with Brands
The College 2025 report is a data-backed look at how students think, shop, socialize, and build community. Informed by original research, it offers new insight into what drives this generation and what it takes for brands to reach them.
Background: The COVID Generation Goes to College
Background: The COVID Generation Goes to College
The largest-ever class of high school seniors graduated in May 2025. They've lived through a pandemic, global volatility, and an AI revolution—all before they turned 18. That backdrop informs what they’re looking for from their college experience, often in ways that would have been hard to predict. Gen Z students may be digital natives, but they crave in-person connection and see real-life community as a critical part of the college experience. To connect meaningfully with this generation, brands must meet them where they are—on campus.
The largest-ever class of high school seniors graduated in May 2025. They've lived through a pandemic, global volatility, and an AI revolution—all before they turned 18. That backdrop informs what they’re looking for from their college experience, often in ways that would have been hard to predict. Gen Z students may be digital natives, but they crave in-person connection and see real-life community as a critical part of the college experience. To connect meaningfully with this generation, brands must meet them where they are—on campus.
82% of college students find community on campus, not online.
82% of college students find community on campus, not online.
Methodology: A Representative Nation-Wide Survey of College Students
Methodology: A Representative Nation-Wide Survey of College Students
We conducted a national survey asking college students about their hopes, challenges, motivations, and goals. The research was conducted in February 2025 and reflects responses from a broad cross-section of the undergraduate population. A total of 1,803 students participated in the survey, representing 67 colleges and universities across 29 states in the continental United States. Responses were analyzed to identify key trends in student behavior, values, and long-term aspirations, with particular attention to how these factors influence brand engagement and purchasing habits.
We conducted a national survey asking college students about their hopes, challenges, motivations, and goals. The research was conducted in February 2025 and reflects responses from a broad cross-section of the undergraduate population. A total of 1,803 students participated in the survey, representing 67 colleges and universities across 29 states in the continental United States. Responses were analyzed to identify key trends in student behavior, values, and long-term aspirations, with particular attention to how these factors influence brand engagement and purchasing habits.
INSIGHT: Students Crave In-Person Connection
INSIGHT: Students Crave In-Person Connection
82% of college students find community on campus, not online. Rather than competing for attention in an endless scroll, brands can meet students where connection is actually happening—in dining halls, dorm rooms, club meetings, and late-night study sessions—and become part of their daily lives.
82% of college students find community on campus, not online. Rather than competing for attention in an endless scroll, brands can meet students where connection is actually happening—in dining halls, dorm rooms, club meetings, and late-night study sessions—and become part of their daily lives.
Which of the following statements most resonates with you?
Which of the following statements most resonates with you?
I make friends and find community
in person, on campus
I make friends and find community
in person, on campus
I make friends and find community
online, via social media
I make friends and
find community
online, via social media
INSIGHT: College Students Act Like a Cohort, Not a Demographic
INSIGHT: College Students Act Like a Cohort, Not a Demographic
79% of students like experimenting with new brands, and they’re doing so surrounded by friends, peers, and the close-knit milieu of campus life. Successful brands treat college as a cohort where physical proximity, not traditional demographic information, is the biggest predictor of behavior.
79% of students like experimenting with new brands, and they’re doing so surrounded by friends, peers, and the close-knit milieu of campus life. Successful brands treat college as a cohort where physical proximity, not traditional demographic information, is the biggest predictor of behavior.
54% of students say they primarily discover new brands through their friends.
54% of students say they primarily discover new brands through their friends.
59% of students say they like to buy the same brands through their friends.
59% of students say they like to buy the same brands through their friends.
INSIGHT: Back-to-School Is a Key Moment for Brands
INSIGHT: Back-to-School Is a Key Moment for Brands
$47 billion is spent during college move-in, $7 billion more than Black Friday. Students are making first-time purchases across categories before they arrive, as they move in, and during those memorable first few weeks of college. They’re more attuned to quality than price, a new trend for this slice of Gen Z.
$47 billion is spent during college move-in, $7 billion more than Black Friday. Students are making first-time purchases across categories before they arrive, as they move in, and during those memorable first few weeks of college. They’re more attuned to quality than price, a new trend for this slice of Gen Z.
As an incoming first-year college student, when did you buy items in the following categories?
As an incoming first-year college student, when did you buy items in the following categories?
Before arriving on campus
Before arriving on campus
After arriving on campus
After arriving on campus
47 billion is spent during college move-in—$7 billion more than Black Friday.
47 billion is spent during college move-in—$7 billion more than Black Friday.
College Inc. — Your Partner in Winning Gen Z
College Inc. — Your Partner in Winning Gen Z
Our research and insights tools help brands decode the rapidly changing college audience and make data-informed decisions about their brand. As the first (and only) omnichannel college marketing platform for reaching students at scale, we pair deep behavioral insights with smart ad delivery to make sure your message doesn’t just show up—it sticks. Learn more about our insights into the college audience.
Our research and insights tools help brands decode the rapidly changing college audience and make data-informed decisions about their brand. As the first (and only) omnichannel college marketing platform for reaching students at scale, we pair deep behavioral insights with smart ad delivery to make sure your message doesn’t just show up—it sticks. Learn more about our insights into the college audience.
Ready to move beyond assumptions and start speaking the college audience’s language?
Book a call with a College Inc. strategist today and start shaping campaigns that connect.
Ready to see what our research can uncover for your brand?
Book a call with a College Inc. strategist today or learn more about our insights into the college audience.