Gen Z Market Research: The Top Firms and Insight Platforms to Know

Companies across industries today are racing to win the hearts and minds of Gen Z customers. It’s easier said than done. While Gen Z can be brand-loyal, only 11% of them feel that brands get them well — suggesting that perhaps companies can do a better job in how they engage these young consumers. Having the right partner for Gen Z market research can help.

But while this generation is the most researched generation in history, they’re also one of the hardest to reach with traditional methods. They skip email surveys and expect research to meet them where they already are: on their phones, in their language.

Looking for a research partner to better understand Gen Z? This guide breaks down the best market research firms and insight platforms to consider, what each is best at, and how to pick the right partner for your specific context and business needs.

Why engaging with Gen Z requires a different research approach

Standard survey playbooks tend to underperform with younger audiences. It comes down to one fundamental thing: the way companies ask Gen Z for feedback often misaligns with how these young people live their digital lives.

“When feedback experiences feel overly rigid or disconnected from normal communication habits, participation often becomes more transactional,” Paula Catoira, our CMO at Rival Group, recently wrote for Advertising Week. “Responses get shorter, nuance disappears and important context never surfaces.”

This applies to everyone, but especially Gen Z!

A few things to keep in mind as you evaluate research suppliers focusing on Gen Z research:

• Response behavior is different. Gen Z participants abandon long, email surveys. Mobile-first, conversational formats consistently earn higher engagement from this group.
• Cultural fluency matters as much as method. Understanding the slang, platforms, and values that shape Gen Z behavior is often the difference between a usable insight and a misread.
• Speed and context both count. Gen Z sentiment moves fast, so the strongest programs pair quick-turn agile studies with the depth to explain the "why" behind the numbers.

The firms below approach these challenges in different ways, from DIY market research platforms to full-service consultancies and syndicated youth-trend specialists. Regardless of the partner you choose, make sure that you're following best practices on engaging with Gen Z participants. 

Top market research companies for Gen Z Insights

Rival Technologies

Rival Technologies is a mobile-first, conversational market research platform built for exactly the audiences that legacy survey tools struggle to reach. Instead of boring questionnaires, Rival lets you use conversational, chat-like surveys that feel like texting, which is a natural fit for how Gen Z already communicates.

Organizations like Warner Bros. Discovery, Time Out and Britebound use Rival to engage Gen Z and even Gen Alpha audiences. These brands leverage always-on insight communities and Voice of Market programs, with the option to tap on-demand sample through Rival Audiences.

In 2026, Rival also launched the Emerging Consumer Index — a syndicated research program focused on Gen Z in the US and Canada.

Why teams choose Rival for Gen Z research:

• Engagement built for mobile. Rival's conversational research format drives 60%+ response rates and 80%+ completion rates, which is difficult to match with traditional survey formats and especially valuable with younger participants.
• On-demand access to hard-to-reach audiences. Rival Audiences gives teams fast, high-quality sample for agile Gen Z studies without long fielding cycles. See G2 reviews for how customers describe the experience.
• Proven Gen Z credibility. Rival runs its own Gen Z research series across the US and Canada, covering topics from travel to attitudes toward AI in marketing, so the platform is battle-tested on the exact audience you are trying to understand.
• Customer success: Rival customers often tout the company’s customer success team as an extension of their team. From recruitment to incentive management and everything in between, Rival’s customer success managers have the research and tech expertise to help you reach Gen Z for insights.

Reach3 Insights

Reach3 Insights, a Rival Group company, is a full-service research consultancy that runs agile and community-based programs for enterprise brands on the Rival platform. Named one of the top market research companies today, Reach3 is the strategic partner for teams that want experienced researchers and industry experts to design, field, and interpret the work.

The team has helped companies like Snapchat, Samsung and Kellanova understand Gen Z audiences.

Why teams choose Reach3 for Gen Z research:

• Full-service depth. Reach3 handles study design through storytelling, which suits complex or high-stakes Gen Z programs that need a senior research point of view.
• Mobile-first and community expertise. The team pairs conversational, mobile-native methods with always-on insight communities to track how Gen Z sentiment evolves over time.
• Category fluency. Reach3 has specific teams for industries that care about Gen Z, spanning consumer goods, retail, financial services, consumer tech and others.

Angus Reid

Angus Reid is arguably the most recognized name in public opinion and market research in Canada. Now part of Rival Group, Angus Reid serves multiple sectors, including financial services, lottery and gaming, technology and even advertising and media.

Given its strong brand in Canada, the company also regularly shares research-backed thought leadership pieces on Gen Z, including its Charity Giving Report. Angus Reid’s client-base includes some of Canada’s biggest brands — including Lululemon, RBC and BMO — making them an excellent research partner for understanding Gen Z.

Why teams choose Angus Reid for Gen Z research:

• Scale and credibility. Angus Reid is well suited to large, representative studies where methodological rigor and a trusted name matter.
• Attitudinal and societal depth. It excels at tracking how Gen Z thinks about broader cultural, social, and political questions, not just brand or product topics.
• Deeply rooted in Canada. Deep coverage across Canada makes it a natural choice for cross-border Gen Z work.

YPulse

YPulse is a specialist in Gen Z and Millennial syndicated research. According to Insight Platforms, the company publishes 120+ reports annually covering 7 countries. It offers syndicated research on a subscription basis.

The company also published daily articles on its website for free, focusing on research on 12-to-39 year old consumers.

Worth noting: YPulse is oriented toward syndicated trend intelligence. Teams that need bespoke, method-heavy studies on a specific business question may want to pair it with an insight platform like Rival or consultancy from Reach3 or Angus Reid to dig deeper.

Touchstone Research

Touchstone has been in the insights industry for 35+ years. The company’s Insight Platforms page says it combines “qualitative and quantitative methodologies to provide actionable insights for brands across industries globally.” It also highlights its work in specialized audiences, which includes Gen Z.

Headquartered in New Haven, Connecticut, Touchstone is also a player in the insight community space.

Worth noting: Touchstone Research is not on G2, which suggests that the company likely doesn’t have its own proprietary insight platform for reaching Gen Z consumers.

How to choose the right Gen Z market research partner

The right firm depends on what you are trying to accomplish. A few questions to frame the decision:

What kind of research do you need? For fast, iterative product, campaign, or concept work, a mobile-first platform such as Rival Technologies is well suited. For syndicated youth-trend intelligence, YPulse or Rival’s Emerging Consumer Index may make more sense. If you need full service support, companies like Angus Reid, Reach3 Insights and Touchstone are worth considering.

Do you want to run it yourself or bring in a partner? If you have research resources in-house, a self-serve platform gives you speed and control. If you want senior researchers to own the program end to end, firms like Reach3 Insights and Angus Reid are good players to check out.

How important is engagement with the actual audience? If reaching and retaining Gen Z participants is your biggest challenge, prioritize conversational, mobile-first methods over legacy survey formats. Our research-on-research shows that Gen Z consumers prefer this conversational approach over traditional surveys.