Yet these cross-generational attitudes and behaviors are not always so clear-cut. For example, Epsilon’s research shows that while millennials are more likely to shop online from a smartphone, Gen Z consumers—just like older generations—prefer to shop in-store. Millennials generally prefer shopping online for the shipping convenience, whereas Gen Z prefers in-store shopping for purchase speed and the social aspect of shopping with friends, the survey found.
Other technologies barely show a generational divide. With regard to mobile payments, for example, GfK’s study found a strikingly similar level of concern about sharing personal information: Only a four-point spread was found between the most (boomers, 61%) and least worried (Gen Z, 57%) groups.
“For all the bluster about doing away with credit cards or cash, mobile payment in the US has remained at low levels of adoption for quite some time,” notes Joe Beier, executive vice president of GfK Shopper and Consumer Insights. “People agree that mobile is—or at least should be—a faster and easier payment method. But there are lingering data security concerns that the marketplace has yet to fully address or alleviate.”
Recent survey data found that emerging technologies seem to be more appealing to younger shoppers.