Gen Zers: Leading the Charge in the Future of Commerce
The future of commerce is all about Gen Zers. This completely digital generation of young adults is becoming instrumental in deciding where payments should go next.
Gen Zers are not only leading the charge towards smarter, hyper personalized and more flexible and fluid digital payments; they are also poised to become the fastest growing consumer segment worldwide with an extraordinary force to reshape the marketplace with their unique financial behaviors.
At Visa, we just released a new report “Winning over the Gen Zers in social, gaming & payments,” and the figures are outstanding, especially on their behaviors towards commerce and money. For example, Gen Zers are emerging as a powerful force in the mobile app economy: 75% say they regularly use apps for financial activities, 85% own and use a financial app or digital wallet¹ and 60% of Gen Zers globally use mobiles to make digital purchases², using apps for online purchases far more than any other generation.
Gen Zers mostly manage their money online and they want their real-world transactions to function just as seamlessly as their digital interactions do. This is quite important to understand as this generation does not distinguish between channels. Instagram, TikTok or in-store, they expect a fluid experience on any platform and any device. For them, payments must be available in the virtual spaces where they often meet, interact and play.
To make these online spaces safe and frictionless, at Visa we are committed to developing solutions like Click to Pay that provides a simple digital checkout experience that brings the convenience of contactless online. Instead of cardholders manually entering card details every time, they enroll in Click to Pay once and then check out with participating merchants by simply using their email or phone number. Click to Pay in combination with Visa Payment Passkey Service – the next gen authentication solution that confirms digital identity using biometrics (face, fingerprint) to enable payments – can be a powerful duo. Payment Passkey is built off FIDO standard and designed to make online payments safer and more secure by eliminating passcodes and reducing fraud. We are working across the region to implement these both broadly and as pilots.
And this leads me to gaming that plays a central role in Gen Zers’ lives. Gen Zers have grown up playing video games from an early age, so many feel comfortable and emotionally attached to game worlds. In fact, 80% of Latin American Gen Zers identify themselves as gamers³ and 70% play games to socialize with friends in digital worlds⁴.
But gaming is not just a pastime for them, it’s a social currency. And I understand this quite well. My son Valentino is at the beginning stages of this generation and is a gamer at heart. He is not only already paying everything with his phone (it’s the only thing he carries with him all the time) but he also spends way too many hours connected to the FIFA football game, which has transformed him into a whole businessman buying and selling players with friends.
So, an inherent value of gaming lies in that it often provides Gen Zers’ first exposure to digital transactions — and in fact to the entire financial system, laying the groundwork for their understanding and influence on the future of online commerce.
Gamers are comfortable with in-game currencies, tokens and other forms of virtual payment, and the cost associated with their favorite games. They dedicate time to earning and spending in-game currency, and even use it to trade with others in real life, such as promising to pay a friend a number of Robux, the currency of Roblox, for their drink.
In many of these cases, young gamers can engage in the digital payment ecosystem without ever interacting with real-world financial institutions or merchants. As stated in our new report⁵, 57% of Gen Z players say they have discovered new brands while gaming, 53% are more likely to buy from a brand featured in a game and 32% have purchased virtual or digital goods in a digital gaming world⁶.
As Gen Zers emerge from financial adolescence into financial maturity, adapting to their dynamics is not only necessary but a strategic imperative for future success. With Latin America and the Caribbean becoming the fastest growing region in gaming⁷ and Gen Z now the world’s largest age cohort⁸, the opportunities in this space are massive. And at Visa, with our expertise in commerce and innovative solutions, we can help build the best product offerings and continue unlocking the power of this segment for our clients and partners in the region, helping them achieve the right exposure and business growth.
I invite you to read our new report by clicking here to access it in English, Spanish or Portuguese
Let's get #genzready with Visa