Born after 1996, Gen Z does not know a world without Google, Instagram, Facebook, or for that matter, the Internet. They’re natively familiar with everything digital, from e-shopping to mobile payments and everything in between. It translates to opportunities for ecommerce businesses. Or perhaps challenges?
These Gen Z digital natives can adapt or adopt instantly, they see the world differently, from consuming content to shopping. They hold their money in digital wallets and send money across borders instantly.
Gen Z and money
Logica’s annual Future of Money tracks trends of Gen Z consumers, now aged between 16 and 25, towards money. The research shows that this generation is still using cash to pay, contrary to it becoming less and less important in other groups. They are fond of all things digital, especially if it’s mobile. According to Logica, 31% of Gen Z say they prefer to use apps for online payments in the next 5 years.
Another interesting take-out of the study is that Gen Z is slower to adopt P2P payments, which only grew by 5% year on year. We see the same with BNPL (Buy Now Pay Later), which only grew 7% last year compared to 15% among Millennials and Generation X.
So this generation doesn’t just jump when something is on-trend. They’re more conservative, responsible and money-conscious than Millennials, it seems.
Gen Z and payments
As this generation enters the job market, their attitudes and views will start influencing how they and businesses pay each other and their employees. Another study conducted by Billtrust contradicts Logica’s findings. They state that P2P and B2C payments are the new norms for Gen Z. According to Billtrust, “ 79% of Gen Z reported using P2P payments at least once per month. Despite their youth, that means Gen Z is already using P2P payments more than Millennials (75%) and Gen Xers (69%), based on previous industry reports.”
Gen Z and life
Gen Z and Millennials are some of the most researched generations. In yet another survey conducted by Deloitte yearly, these generations are deeply concerned about their financial well being. They worry about their day-to-day finances and that they won’t be able to retire comfortably. Other issues on their minds are the cost of living, climate change, unemployment, mental health and sexual harassment. According to Deloitte, Gen Z is tired of being resilient. They want to see real change and get genuine support.
Gen Z and the future of payments
The last white paper we want to quote is Temenos, Generation Z: Their payments are our future. They’ve found that wearable payment technology has a bright future with Gen Z at the helm. Covid 19 has catapulted contactless payments firmly into the future. Traditional banks face various challenges in this space because wearables don’t come in just one format. Gen Z is prudent and demands payment solutions that feature security, stability, savings and budgeting tools, and great user experiences and features.
It is no longer good enough to build your brand on price alone. Gen Z demands that companies are conscious of the environment, equality, and inclusion. They can spot insincere offers a mile away, and inauthentic communication will not win them over. They want to be heard, considered and for products to address their real needs. Customer service has never been as important. Although this generation responds well to incentives and offers, they will not accept bad UX and UI experiences. They want to have fun while they shop, and speak to a real person when they run into a problem. On the spot, not weeks later. Last but not least, they want their data to be private and their transactions secure.
If you’re building an ecommerce business of the future, you need a payment provider that facilitates tomorrow with you. Speak to Truevo, we have Gen Z firmly in our sight. We iterate faster than most, and our customer service is second to none. Drop us a mail, we can’t wait to build a better world with you.
