Online retailers that don't support digital wallets are losing Gen Z customers

A study suggests younger people are more likely to walk away if their preferred payment option isn’t supported. Online retailers that don’t support digital wallets are losing Gen Z customers. Big Tech Online retailers that don’t support digital wallets are losing Gen Z customers A study suggests younger people are more likely to walk away if their preferred payment option isn’t supported.

And this phenomenon is particularly pronounced in the Gen Z demographic. More than one-third (36 percent) of Gen Z shoppers abandoned a cart in the last 30 days because they couldn’t pay the way they wanted, 1.7 times the overall average, followed closely by millennials at 31 percent. Collectively, 40 million consumers in those two age groups walked away from intended purchases in a single month, the study found, resulting in massive profit losses for online retailers.

These cart-abandonment rates are significantly lower for Gen X, with only 15 percent walking away from purchases, and baby boomers and seniors, at only 8.3 percent. With Gen Z’s spending power expected to grow to $12 trillion by 2030, retailers risk missing out on a major demographic if they fail to expand online payment options. Digital wallets are on the rise Digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay are becoming increasingly common for both online and in-store purchases.

Digital wallets were used in 40 percent of online purchases in 2025 and 17 percent of in-store spending, according to a study from payment technology firm Global Payments.