Here comes the Gen Z bride

From acquiring an engagement ring to buying a wedding dress, few life events are as rife with retail opportunities as planning and hosting a wedding.

Last year, the average wedding cost around US$38,000. In 2019, that number was US$28,000, reports The Knot, a global technology company that provides content, tools, products and services for couples planning weddings.

In recent years, specific segments of the wedding retail industry, such as bridal wear, have shown exponential growth that is expected to continue. Valued at US$11.85 billion last year, the bridal wear market is expected to reach US$18.54 billion by 2030, expanding at a compound annual growth rate of 6.6 percent in this time frame, Maximize Market Research states.

An epic 2.6 million weddings took place in 2022, as wedding activity has bounced back post-pandemic. One factor is the growing number of Gen Zers walking down the aisle.

This year, the oldest members of Gen Z will be 27 years old and starting to settle into their ‘adult’ lives. For some, that will include getting married, and the wedding retail industry is already experiencing a few notable shifts.

Social media shapes wedding retail

Christina Wettstein is the co-founder of bridal retail companies Melange de Blanc and Coterie White and has been in the wedding apparel industry for over 17 years. She has observed an increased interest in gown customisation services, largely thanks to social media.

“Compared with ten years ago, when I was on the retail side as a store manager, the amount of customisations that girls want, and the amount of changes on a dress, have increased because now everyone is ‘special’,” White explained.

“Everyone has always been special, but especially on social media, [brides] need something different than what everyone else has seen. So now they want to change the neckline, change the back, change the colour, add something to the train and so on.”

Rachel Leonard, editorial director of The Bridal Council and former fashion director of Condé Nast’s Brides, agreed that consumers today are seeking more bespoke bridal wear and adds that they want those services provided on a “faster turnaround” time.

“The ‘see it now, buy it now’ mentality has also changed the landscape. Today, designers have select made-to-order styles that can be produced much faster and some designers have developed ready-to-wear lines that can be bought immediately,” she elaborated.

Leonard emphasised that salon retailers need to understand who their customers are and accommodate all production types, from made-to-order wedding dresses to ready-to-wear looks.

Beyond the dress to say ‘I do’, there is a growing trend of brides purchasing additional dresses to wear after the ceremony, for drinks and dancing, as well as separate ensembles for wedding-adjacent activities, such as the rehearsal dinner.

Venetia Fryzer, an Edited retail analyst, noted that bridal accessories have gained popularity in the US market, as lower-ticket items that can be worn from engagement through to honeymoon.

Venetia Fryzer, an Edited retail analyst, noted that bridal accessories have gained popularity in the US market, as lower-ticket items that can be worn from engagement through to honeymoon.

Non-bridal brands seek piece of the pie

With weddings on the rise in the US, several general fashion and accessories brands have launched bridal ranges to capture a slice of the market.

Luxury hair accessories and jewellery brand Jennifer Behr launched an exclusive bridal capsule collection with luxury online retailer Mytheresa last year; designer jewellery brand Lele Sadoughi made its foray into bridal accessories in February; and fast-fashion retailer Forever 21 launched its first-ever bridal capsule collection in April, as did luxury fashion brand Jacquemus.

But the brand that has made perhaps the biggest bet on bridal is Abercrombie & Fitch, which launched ‘The A&F Wedding Shop’ in March, including over 100 pieces, retailing from $80-150, to outfit brides, bachelorettes and guests for every wedding-related moment.

As Corey Robinson, Abercrombie & Fitch Co’s chief product officer, explained, “Abercrombie’s customers view weddings as multi-faceted experiences, which is why we designed this collection to be the outfitting solution for so many wedding-related occasions.

“The A&F Wedding Shop’s pieces collectively tell the story of the modern wedding experience – from bridal shower and bachelorette party to wedding day prep, ceremony, reception, brunch and even the honeymoon. It has it all.”

One thing it doesn’t have, however, is the ability to customise gowns, and Wettstein believes this will blunt the long-term impact of fast-fashion brands like Abercrombie & Fitch in the wedding retail market.

“While there is a bride for every dress, when you want to get into the true bridal scene, it would be pretty challenging,” she said.

A shiny band of growth

Another area where the rise of Gen Z can be seen in the wedding retail industry is in engagement rings, especially of the lab-grown variety.

In a recent survey by The Knot, one-third of couples said having a lab-grown diamond was important to them, a 17 per cent increase from 2019. Last year, 46 per cent of all engagement ring centre stones were reported to be lab grown, nearly four times the figure from 2019.

Nearly three in 10 respondents who bought a non-diamond stone chose moissanite, and among Gen Z, this figure was 40 percent. In addition, yellow gold has become more popular, up 15 percent from 2019, though white gold remains the most popular metal overall.

As Leonard pointed out, “Lab-grown diamonds are starting to make inroads for the sustainably conscious buyer,” but size is also a factor, since shoppers can generally get bigger human-made stones for lower prices.

Indeed, The Knot survey found that one-third of respondents had purchased an engagement ring over 2 carats, including side stones and accents; this is up 10 percent from pre-pandemic levels in 2019.

Allied Market Research reports that the lab-grown diamond market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 9.8 per cent between 2021 and 2031, to reach US$55.6 billion. This is significantly faster than the global wedding ring market, which is expected to show a CAGR of 5.9 per cent between 2023 and 2029, to reach US$95.2 billion, Research and Markets states.

Part of the projected overall increase stems from a rising number of engagements expected to take place in the coming years, as well as the growing consumer interest in bespoke ring experiences and the rise of online ring sales.

Signet Jewellers, the world’s largest retailer of diamond jewellery, is anticipating 2.5 million engagements to occur this year, up from 2.2 million last year.

The keys to wedding retail today

With the wedding retail market both expanding and shifting to accommodate the changing preferences of modern brides and grooms, bridal experts like Leonard and Wettstein say it’s more important than ever for retailers to customise the experience.

Regardless of category, when it comes to wedding retail, “customer service and a great memorable experience are still the most important,” Leonard concluded.

This story first appeared in the June 2024 issue of Inside Retail US magazine.

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