Retailers without digital wallet support are losing Gen Z shoppers
A new study finds Gen Z shoppers are the most likely to abandon an online cart when their preferred digital wallet isn't offered at checkout, costing retailers significant sales. Digital wallet use is rising fast, especially among younger generations.
A new study from data and analytics platform PYMNTS Intelligence shows that Gen Z, often described as digital natives, is particularly selective about how it pays online — and quick to abandon a purchase if its preferred digital wallet isn't supported at checkout.
Over the past 30 days, 36 percent of Gen Z shoppers abandoned a cart for this reason, 1.7 times the overall average. Millennials followed closely at 31 percent. Together, the two groups account for roughly 40 million shoppers who walked away from intended purchases in a single month, translating into substantial lost revenue for retailers. By contrast, only 15 percent of Gen X and 8.3 percent of baby boomers and seniors abandoned carts for the same reason.
Digital wallets keep growing
According to payment technology firm Global Payments, digital wallets were used in 40 percent of online purchases and 17 percent of in-store purchases in 2025. PYMNTS separately found that 87 million US consumers had used a digital wallet online in the prior month. Gen Z leads adoption at 47 percent, followed by millennials at 44 percent. US spending through digital wallets is projected to reach $4.1 trillion by 2030.
Financial pressure fuels demand for flexible payment
The study also links cart abandonment to financial strain: consumers living paycheck to paycheck abandoned carts nearly three times more often than those who don't. This is especially relevant for Gen Z, whose unemployment rate stands at 8.3 percent, double the national average, while 42 percent of employed Gen Z workers still live paycheck to paycheck. That pressure is driving demand for Buy Now, Pay Later options such as PayPal Pay Later, which the study found more popular among consumers than competitor Klarna.
Overall, PYMNTS estimates that missing payment options cost US retailers around 26.3 million lost customers per month, with nearly half of Gen Z shoppers saying they would switch merchants or skip a purchase entirely if their preferred wallet weren't accepted.
