Gen Z grocery shoppers want a quick checkout and the freedom to use their preferred payment method. They are also more than twice as likely as baby boomers and seniors to put the value they get from paying first.
Twenty-three percent of Gen Z grocery shoppers said payment-linked value mattered most among the payment features available on their latest purchase, compared with 10% of baby boomers and seniors, according to PYMNTS Intelligence’s “Winning the Next Cart: How Shoppers Choose Stores”. That category includes payment-linked discounts, cash back and the ability to pay over time.
The age gap gives grocers a more specific view of what younger customers want when they reach checkout. Across grocery shoppers overall, 15% put payment-linked value first. Discounts and cash back accounted for 12%, while paying over time accounted for 3%.
Speed and familiarity remain the leading priorities. Thirty percent of grocery shoppers said paying quickly and easily mattered most, and 29% chose the ability to use their preferred payment method. Together, those answers accounted for 59% of grocery shoppers. Across generations, 55% to 63% prioritized an easy checkout or their preferred method.
Gen Z’s greater interest in payment benefits also comes with less indifference to checkout options. Just 9% of Gen Z grocery shoppers said no payment feature mattered, compared with 23% of baby boomers and seniors. Older shoppers were more likely to say payment features made no difference than to put extra value first; among Gen Z, the reverse was true.
The findings come from a survey of 2,102 U.S. adults conducted Sept. 11-27. The report examines how consumers choose stores for groceries and retail purchases.
Payment Options Enter the Store Decision
For Gen Z, payment considerations extend beyond the transaction itself. Thirty-eight percent of Gen Z grocery shoppers said payment options influenced or determined where they bought, compared with 16% of baby boomers and seniors and 29% of grocery shoppers overall.
Millennials recorded the highest share, at 41%. The findings place Gen Z closer to millennials than to the oldest shoppers in how often payment options enter the decision about which grocer gets their business.
Payment options nevertheless operate alongside other reasons for choosing a store. Just 1% of grocery shoppers overall named payment options as the main factor behind their choice. Convenience led at 34%, followed by price and deals at 26% and product quality and availability at 25%.
Gen Z shoppers also check competing grocery prices more often. Before their latest purchase, 46% compared prices with another store, versus 19% of baby boomers and seniors. Among those who compared, 65% of Gen Z found their chosen grocer had the best price, compared with 82% of the oldest group.
A lower price elsewhere did not always change the destination. Sixteen percent of Gen Z grocery shoppers who compared prices bought from their chosen store despite finding a cheaper alternative.
For grocers serving younger customers, the report identifies interest in savings at two points: comparing prices before buying and considering the value attached to payment at checkout. Gen Z’s payment preferences give discounts, cash back and payment flexibility a larger place in that second decision, even as speed and familiar methods remain the most common priorities.
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