47 Nostalgia Marketing Statistics to Know in 2025

Are you looking for some eye-opening nostalgia marketing statistics? 

No worries I’ve done all the hard-work for you and deeply researched, vetted and categorized 47 nostalgia marketing statistics for your pleasure. 

Let’s not waste time and jump to it immediately. 

General Nostalgia Marketing Statistics

1. 67% of Gen Zs value authenticity which is found in nostalgia marketing campaigns
2. Consumers aged 25-44 age say they enjoy things that remind them of their past
3. 54% of television viewers rewatched episodes of an old favorite TV show, 55% listened to music they haven’t listened to in a while
4. Gen Zs are the target audience of Nostalgia marketing. 
5. 37% of Gen Z consumers feel nostalgic for the 1990s even though many were not even born at the time and didn’t get to experience it.
6. Over the past 12 years, nostalgia has been used, depending on the year, in only between 1% and 4% of ads.
7. 77% of Americans see nostalgia as a source of comfort when life seems uncertain and challenging
8. 84% believe that their nostalgic memories help them remember what is most important in their lives.
9. 59% say their nostalgic memories offer guidance when they are not certain on what direction to take in life.
10. 56% of Gen Zs feel nostalgic for the 2000s and 42% feel the same about the 2010s. Millennials are 61% for the 1990s. 
11. 9 out of 10 people admit to thinking fondly about the past at least occasionally, 47% say they do so almost always

The Power of Nostalgia Marketing Statistics

12. Gen Zs make up 40% of the global population and spend up to $360 billion. Millennials spend around $2.5 trillion
13. Brands can increase engagement by up to 60% by leveraging nostalgia
14. Consumers are willing to pay up to 10-15% more for products that evoke nostalgic feelings.
15. Brands that use nostalgic themes see up to 70% higher engagement rates when they tap into shared memories.
16. Nostalgic ads have a +13 point higher likelihood of going viral to advertising without nostalgia. 
17. 75% of Netflix subscribers are 18-34-years old and around 72% are 35-44.

Brand Consideration Through Nostalgia Marketing Statistics

18. 72% of millennials prefer to spend money on experiences
19. Nostalgia-driven campaigns can expect revenue increase by 3-5% per campaign cycle.  
20. 80% of American Gen Zers would like brands to bring back old aesthetic styles and 74% love when brands produce retro products or content.
21. 52% of 12- to 29-year-old consumers prefer classic brands.
22. 81% of young consumers like it when brands bring back products and trends from their childhood. 
23. 80% of Gen Z consumers and millennials are looking for brands that resonate with their nostalgia
24. 60% of consumers report feeling more positively toward brands that use nostalgia
25. 76% of UK consumers are attracted to sweets that remind them of their childhood
26. 92% of consumers feel that nostalgia makes ads more relatable
27. On average, less than 3% of ads contain nostalgic elements.

Influence on Purchases Through Nostalgia Marketing Statistics 

28. Retro styles like the limited Adidas Samba got increasingly popular, with searches rising up 1,325% year-over-year on Depop
29. Millennials spend about $600 billion each year in the US alone
30. More than half of U.S adults are likely to make a purchase when it makes them feel nostalgic for the past. 
31. Over 60% of consumers said if businesses cared more about them, they would buy more as a result
32. 82% of Gen Z watch content in order to feel nostalgic

What Consumers Think about Nostalgia Statistics

33. Compared to the 23% of today, 58% of Americans think life was better in the past.
34. 15% of Gen Zs feel they’d prefer to think about the past rather than the future. Millennials further behind at 14%
35. 50% of Generation z feel nostalgic for types of media, following is 47% of Millenials. 
36. 8% of Gen Zs are more likely to listen to 80s music.
37. 54% of Gen Z like the style of vintage clothes, many trends from the 90s and Y2K have experienced a huge interest in the last few years. 
38. 46% of consumers feel triggered with things like movies, TV shows, and music 
39. 53% of people say they feel happy and 40% feel comforted when they engage with media from the past.
40. 55% of consumers say they listen to tunes to remind them of good memories, while 36% listen to escape from reality
41. 90% of Gen Z were faced with psychological or physical symptoms because of stress experienced in the last year. 
42. 70% of Gen Z said they like watching and listening media from earlier decades
43. More than 72% of males are nostalgic but only 61% of women are confirmed nostalgic.
44. 55% of consumers would choose to return to the past if it were possible to time travel, while only 28% would go to the future.
45. 38% of the 1960s conjures the strongest associations with music
46. 70% of rural residents and 66% respectively are more prone to nostalgia
47.  44% of people would prefer to have grown up at the time when their parents were children if “given the choice”.

See Success with your Nostalgia Marketing Efforts

Stats reveals that Nostalgia marketing is still very underrated as only a very few brands are using it right now while it is very effective. This makes the space wide open for you to start employing it in your marketing strategy such as in  ads, copies, etc. to get results. 

Your target audience for nostalgia obviously is the younger generation of Gen Zs and millennials with high purchasing power. 

Use the statistics above properly and you should see massive results in your sales in 2025.

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I got my sources from the following pages: 

Cnbc, Gwi, Mintel, Ipsos, Kantar, Pewresearch, Spotify, Healthmatch, AccelerantResearch,  Fortune, footwearnews,