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AIPROPX ReportFortune · 2h ago
Am I paying for the vibes?’ Gen Z says it hates capitalism, but their spending patterns show they just don’t like being ripped off
Felipe W., a 20-something Yelp Elite reviewer in Dallas, put it bluntly when describing what he looks for before spending money at a new restaurant.
“In reviews, I want things that you can’t quantify so easily from the website or before you walk in. What makes it different than other places? What’s their business model like? Am I paying for the vibes?”
It’s a question that cuts to the center of a contradiction defining an entire generation’s economic behavior. Gen Z has built a reputation as anti-capitalist in spirit — skeptical of corporations, vocal about inequality, allergic to anything that feels like a corporate cash grab. And yet this is also the generation that will wait an hour in a TikTok-viral line for a bagel, a matcha, or a $9 pastry, driven by hashtags like #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt , which has racked up billions of views. New research from Yelp, conducted in partnership with Angus Reid Group, suggests the resolution to that contradiction isn’t ideological at all. It’s about trust.
New research from Yelp, conducted in partnership with Angus Reid Group, suggests the resolution to that contradiction isn’t ideological at all and Gen Z doesn’t hate capitalism as much as it says it does. It’s about value for money.
The myth of the impulsive spender
Gen Z has a reputation for spontaneous, hype-driven spending, but survey data tells a more complicated story. The research, based on a survey of 1,323 Americans ages 18 to 29 fielded by Angus Reid Group from Feb. 2 to 19, 2026, found that across every category tested, an overwhelming majority of Gen Z researches purchases on at least one platform before buying: 97% for restaurants, 94% for beauty, 93% for fitness and wellness, 92% for home services, and 84% for professional services.
That doesn’t mean Gen Z isn’t spending. Food remains the top outlet: 78% of respondents said they’d bought takeout or delivery in the past month, and 72% had dined out in person, with both categories up 45% year over year.
When a little extra cash lands in their pocket from a bonus or a gift, 74% said they’d put it toward dining out and 70% toward takeout. The picture isn’t a generation retreating from consumption. It’s one that consumes constantly while auditing every purchase along the way, a pattern PwC’s consumer research has called the “Gen Z paradox” — spending less overall while expecting more from every dollar spent.
Written reviews over influencers
That auditing instinct shows up most clearly in how Gen Z weighs sources. The survey found Gen Z trusts detailed written reviews over influencer recommendations by wide margins — 78% to 59% for dining out, and 81% to 61% when picking a service professional like a hairstylist or a contractor. Beyond that, 77% of respondents said they trust platforms with detailed written reviews over those offering only star ratings when researching services, and 76% said the same for restaurants.
The skepticism toward influencers tracks with a broader ambivalence researchers have identified. Gen Z has learned to discount recommendations that may be compensated, evidence that it wants authentic, human-generated content rather than paid endorsements.
Miranda M., a Yelp Elite user in Brooklyn, explained why detail matters more than a rating: “I feel like people tend to explain more on Yelp. On Google, it’ll show when someone leaves a five star rating and like there’ll be no detail. I want to see words or pictures and more about the experience, not necessarily just individuals and their ratings.”
Angelina E., a Yelp Elite user in Orlando, put it similarly: “I like the honest reviews. I want to hear… how long did you have to wait for something? Did you go back to this place again? Was this service the best service you ever had?”
Price, inflation, and the ambiance tax
Money still talks. When choosing a new restaurant, menu (89%) and price (87%) were the two most influential factors in the survey, ahead of ambiance, which 73% of respondents still called influential. When it comes to service professionals like hairstylists, pet groomers, contractors, 85% said price mattered, with up-to-date business information (81%) and ease of booking (80%) close behind.
That’s where Felipe’s “vibes” question becomes more than a throwaway line. Ambiance ranks below price and menu, but it’s still influential for roughly three in four Gen Z diners — suggesting they’re not purely bargain-hunting, but weighing whether the intangible parts of an experience justify the bill. This lines up with what the BBC has documented as Gen Z being the only generation to rank quality above price, while also being more likely than older cohorts to read — and leave — detailed reviews.
Miranda M. described exactly this kind of price-vetting ritual: “A lot of hole-in-the-wall restaurants don’t have a website that has a menu. So I’ll go to Yelp and look into the photos; sometimes people will post a menu and that gives me a good idea. I’ll send it to my friend group and say, ‘Does this price point meet everyone’s expectations?'”
The TikTok paradox
None of this erases the line-waiting, hype-chasing side of Gen Z consumption. TikTok remains a powerful discovery engine for younger consumers, and the platform has leaned into that role, recently adding restaurant review features that let users tag a business and leave a star rating directly in-app — a direct challenge to Yelp’s core function. But the Yelp data suggests TikTok and Yelp aren’t competing for the same job. They’re doing two different things.
It appears that TikTok supplies the spectacle and the social signal, the reason to want to go somewhere at all, while Yelp supplies the verification layer once curiosity has been sparked. Industry analysts tra...
Am IGen ZThey'llTikTok'sYelpFelipe WYelp EliteDallasTikTokTikTokMadeMeBuyItAngus Reid GroupAmericans
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