Exploring Financial Wellbeing for Gen Z adults & millennials in the US
The purpose of this study is to understand the mental models, motivations, behaviors, and conversations Gen Z adults and millennials have around attaining and maintaining financial wellness during transition periods.
The financial landscape is wide, and there are many milestones that people go through financially as they transition through different phases of life. However, wellbeing is a constant that ebbs and flows through all parts of these financial aspects, life decisions, transitions and emotions.
Timeline
14 Weeks
Region
North America
My Role
Ethnographic Research
Insight Synthesis
Research Workshop
Storytelling
Tools & Skills
Mural
Figma
Team
Lucia Chen
Radhika Kale
Shivani Bhansali
The Process
The purpose of this study is to understand the mental models and behaviors of Gen Z Adults and Millennials around attaining financial wellness. Our research strategy was based on the first half of the strategic design process, which includes data collection, synthesis, and distillation of insights and opportunities. Over the course of 14 weeks, we conducted research and transformed our findings into this report that summarizes opportunities which we will explore, prototype, and test in Integrative Studio 2.
Exploration Area
For secondary or contextual research, we used a variety of sources and methods to understand the financial wellbeing landscape and current state. This helped us create a baseline understanding that informed the rest of our research.
We approached the primary research with a two pronged focus – quantitative research to understand the distribution and representation of the segment based on their preferences and behaviors and qualitative research to get insights into the archetypes and mental models driving their decisions.
Research
We studied the financial well-being ecosystem, how emotions drive money, and money drives emotions, lack of communication and guidance, the influence of financial well-being, the financial wellness market and growth, and the market landscape.
For our Primary research, we conducted a survey, expert interviews, and a series of user interviews.
From speaking with our individual interviewees and collating those observations with our expert interviews, survey responses, and contextual research, we noticed that a lot of factors play into one’s financial habits and thus, well-being. We then identified some behavioral patterns, based on one’s level of engagement with their level of experience, leading us to create nine archetypes.
Analysis
We conducted a design workshop to explore the initial opportunity areas. These initial How Might We’s helped us to pin down our overarching opportunity. The opportunities were explored across various archetypes which included the Eager Beavers, Brisk Baboons, Oblivious Ostriches, Calm Koalas and Soaring Eagles
Workshop
Through the 14 weeks of research we derived the top three insights distilled down from the initial six.
Creation of an insights ethnographic video as well as the final report with detailed data and process.
Collaborative working with a diverse set of team.
