A study from PYMNTS Intelligence reveals that Gen Z shoppers are increasingly abandoning online purchases when their preferred digital wallet isn't supported at checkout. More than one-third (36 percent) of Gen Z consumers walked away from carts in the last 30 days due to unavailable payment options, 1.7 times the overall average, while millennials followed closely at 31 percent. Collectively, 40 million consumers in those two age groups abandoned intended purchases in a single month, resulting in significant profit losses for online retailers.
Digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay are rapidly becoming the norm, with 40 percent of online purchases in 2025 conducted via digital wallets and 87 million US shoppers using them within the prior 30 days. Gen Z leads adoption at 47 percent, followed by millennials at 44 percent. The US is projected to see $4.1 trillion in digital wallet spending by 2030, a 64 percent increase from 2025.
Financial constraints also drive payment preferences, with 29 percent of consumers living paycheck to paycheck abandoning carts when their preferred method was missing. Gen Z faces particular financial pressure, with 42 percent living paycheck to paycheck and an 8.3 percent unemployment rate. Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services are gaining traction, with PayPal Pay Later preferred by 20 percent of consumers over Klarna at 12.4 percent.
Retailers risk losing substantial revenue: 33 percent of digital wallet users said they would delay, switch merchants, or skip purchases entirely if their wallet wasn't accepted. As Gen Z's spending power is expected to reach $12 trillion by 2030, companies that fail to expand payment options may miss out on a major demographic.
Source: Engadget · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing