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Press releases

Gen Z consumers demand more choice at the checkout

Sep 19, 2019

Paysafe research shows 16-24-year-olds are embracing alternative payment methods online

LONDON, UK – Generation Z (Gen Z, 16 – 24-year-olds) consumers are causing a generation divide when it comes to online payment preferences. That’s according to international research commissioned by Paysafe, a leading global payments provider, which found that Gen Z consumers are much more likely than other generations to embrace a wider range of alternative payment methods.

Over a third (40 percent) of Gen Z have some experience of in-app payments, and 15 percent make in-app payments regularly - significantly higher than all other consumers (27 percent and 9 percent). A third of Gen Z (34 percent) have used a mobile wallet (versus 26 percent of other consumers) and 14 percent (versus 10 percent) regularly make payments with one. Additionally, a quarter of Gen Z (25 percent) regularly or occasionally use prepaid pins and 29 percent have made online purchases using a cash-based system (versus 17 percent and 24 percent of all other consumers).

The research also revealed that 47 percent of Gen Z buy goods on their mobile more often than any other platform – the same as millennials (25-39-year-olds). In contrast, just 28 percent of Generation X (40-54-year-olds) and 10 percent of Baby Boomers (over 55-year-olds) prefer mobile shopping.

The report ‘Lost in Transaction: Gen Z expectations at the checkout’, which surveyed over 6,000 consumers in the UK, US, Canada, Germany, Austria and Bulgaria, also looked at this age group’s attitudes towards in-store payments. The research shows that 16 – 24-year-olds enjoy having additional payment options in-store, with over half (53 percent) preferring to shop in stores that accept contactless payments. Physical cash is also still used by most (79 percent) Gen Z consumers when shopping in brick-and-mortar stores.

Gen Z is also open to using voice-activated payments. More than half would use voice technology to sign up for a subscription service such as Netflix (52 percent) or make a one-off entertainment purchase (51 percent), and 43 percent would be prepared to pay for groceries using voice commands to their smart fridge.

The younger generation also say they are increasingly open to cryptocurrencies. Nearly a third of Gen Z (30 percent) can see themselves using cryptocurrency to make purchases in the next two years if they knew more about it, or have already used it.  Over a third (38 percent) also believe that using cryptocurrencies would be an effective way to combat card fraud, more than the average consumer.

Philip McHugh, CEO of Paysafe Group, commented on the research: “This generation is naturally more comfortable with technology but has also been exposed to a much broader set of ways to pay. Accepting new payment types and expecting lots of flexibility and ease will be table stakes going forward.”

About Lost in Transaction: Gen Z expectations at the checkout

Lost in Transaction: Gen Z expectations at the checkout is an independent research project commissioned by Paysafe and supported by London-based agency Loudhouse in Q2 2019. The research was completed among 6,197 consumers from the US, UK, Canada, Germany, Austria and Bulgaria. Respondents came from six different age groups and a variety of different professions.

About Paysafe Group

Paysafe Group (Paysafe) is a leading global provider of end-to-end payment solutions. Its core purpose is to enable businesses and consumers to connect and transact seamlessly through industry-leading capabilities in payment processing, digital wallet, card issuing and online cash solutions. 

With over 20 years of online payment experience, an annualized transactional volume of over US $85 billion, and approximately 3,000 employees located in 12+ global locations, Paysafe connects businesses and consumers across 200 payment types in over 40 currencies around the world.

Delivered through an integrated platform, Paysafe solutions are geared toward mobile-initiated transactions, real-time analytics and the convergence between brick-and-mortar and online payments. Visit us at www.paysafe.com

Anna Howard
Director of Communications, Europe and Asia, Paysafe Group

E: Anna.Howard@paysafe.com
M: +44 (0) 7585 967772