How Gen Z Brands Text

SMS has always been a millennial marketer's tool. But what is the new generation of brands doing with this tool?

At Tiny Texts I keep track of texts from many Gen Z brands, like Edikted, Comfrt, Princess Polly, TA3, and Kylie Cosmetics, and brands that got their start on TikTok and eventually made their way into my home.

Surely since Gen Z customers have a different relationship with technology, phones and the world itself, the brands that serve them must have some interesting approaches to SMS marketing. And that’s the topic of today’s newsletter.

What’s ahead:

Let’s get into it!

After methodically combing through these brands’ threads from the past 4 years, it’s apparent there is no single Gen Z SMS playbook. Across the brands I tracked in Q1 2026, strategy is largely determined by two things: category and pricing. A premium lifestyle brand like Madhappy texts very differently from a value fashion brand like Princess Polly — and that gap has less to do with generational identity than it does with what they're selling and at what price point.

Brands protecting a price premium — Madhappy, OLIPOP, Studs, APL — almost never discount on SMS. Brands at accessible price points — Princess Polly, ColourPop, Windsor — run programs that look a lot like any other DTC retailer: urgency, countdowns, discount codes.

While the analysis didn’t turn up a stark generational divide in the way all Gen Z brands interact on SMS, I did see some interesting tactics at work:

The first Gen Z-specific trend is highly coded copywriting.

Good Girl Snacks texts like it’s a group chat and assumes the reader is already familiar with their product. I read their text thread from 2024 through 2026, and I still have no idea what’s in their pickles. They almost never explain any details.

Windsor is another brand that leans into one subculture so specifically — "When someone calls you calculated, thank them" — that subscribers outside that world will likely self-select out.

This coded writing only works if the brand is strong enough to act as its own filter. But when it does, the customers who subscribe will feel like the messages were written specifically for them. That's harder to manufacture than a discount code — and hard to replicate.

There was a time when the concept of limited drops was unique to streetwear brands, but now everyone from Moncler to Trader Joe’s is dropping limited edition product. This tactic is pretty ingrained in Gen Z brands, and when you look at their SMS threads, drops and microdrops are everywhere. Madhappy, ColourPop, Dr. Squatch are all doing it, via SMS. Even Goodwipes, the Gen Z butt brand, dropped limited-edition wipes via a text.

Less an SMS tactic and more of a product strategy, Gen Z brands also use licensed IP heavily. In 2026 alone, we saw product collabs with Twilight Saga, Pokémon, Dragon Ball Z and Powerpuff Girls, throwbacks to Gen Z’s most formative years. Brands are saying "we know what you grew up with, what you watch, what you're into," and that knowing smile is showing up in SMS as well.

And the last common tactic I see among Gen Z SMS programs, is a repeating format that trains subscribers to expect something. There is a consistency to many of these brands’ texts, e.g., a drop every Thursday, a promotion every Friday. These patterns give subscribers a reason to stay on the list even when they're not in market. That's a different problem to solve than conversion, and most SMS programs never try.

If you found today’s newsletter useful, forward it to one SMS marketer you know. And follow Tiny Texts on LinkedIn for more SMS ideas, benchmarks and job posts.

Thanks for reading and see you next week!