A recent survey by PayTech Thunes has outlined how members of Generation Z are creating change across the shopping, social and payment markets.
Thunes conducted a global study – Gen Z: The Future of Spending – and interviewed 6,500 people between the ages of 16 and 24 across 13 developed and emerging nations
The study found that members of the Gen Z generation are heavily influenced by social media more than any other group. In this area, Thunes found that two-thirds of respondents said they have purchased products they first discovered online.
Elsewhere, a lack of enthusiasm for traditional financial products was identified in the study, with 62% of Gen Z’s remarking that they don’t have any bank account at all. In its place, mobile wallets are growing in popularity, with almost 50% of Zoomers now using this kind of account. Almost a quarter of Zoomers in western markets also highlighted that they almost never use cash.
Thunes also found that 19% of Zoomers spend a slightly bigger amount of their money online shopping than they do on socialising, entertainment and eating out, something more prescient in developed markets.
A key focus on brand and user experience also stood out in the study, with one of the largest drivers for Zoomers who are considering purchase and payment methods being brand trust – an area that become the number one factor for choosing a primary payment method in 7 of the 13 countries. This was followed in second place by user experience.
Thunes CEO Peter De Caluwe said: “To many, Gen Z is a misunderstood and overlooked generation. This is a generation to which “dial-up” and “desktop” are meaningless words and who don’t just think “mobile-first”, but live and breathe in apps, social media, digital platforms and soon – the metaverse. We should start to take this generation seriously as the revenues and strategic plans of many businesses – especially those that are relying on fast growth – are dependent on them”.
“We knew that social media would be a key part of a Zoomer’s daily life, but what our survey helped to reveal is the extent to which they are driving spending activity in this demographic. Another important aspect of their lives that we wanted to explore is their relationships with money and their affection for mobile-driven payment methods. As a company that embraces the diversity of Payments and builds the next-generation Payments infrastructure for the world, we will use these insights to shape our Payment capabilities and solutions for the large group of the Internet businesses that we serve.
“Failure to recognise the imminent influence of the digitally native Zoomer could result in a once perfectly shoppable brand witnessing slipping sales.”
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