Younger shoppers are demanding ‘faster and more secure’ online checkouts

The data also revealed that 53% of UK 18-24 year-olds choose digital payment methods as it provides a quicker check out.

Contactless is now the leading form of in-store payments in the UK, and makes up 80% of Mastercard’s in-person transactions in the country. 

Digital payment methods are growing in use. Mastercard’s survey of 18,000 consumers across Europe revealed 77% of adults have used a digital or app-based payment provider when shopping online in the last 12 months. 

Mastercard UK and Ireland president Simon Forbes said Gen Z are “steering purchasing trends”, particularly through social media.

Retailers offering technologies such as click to pay, which allows consumers to shop online without needing their card on hand or having to manually type in details, can cater to new demands and trends.

Payment processes can be a pain point for shoppers, as the data shows 44% of Gen Z believe manually entering payment information is a hassle.

A further 58% said they are more likely to buy from a retailer partnered with a recognised payment provider, while 47% prefer all retailers to use the same universal payment system for “ease and consistency.”

Forbes believes businesses “must keep up with innovations” to meet the demands of evolving consumers.

He added: “Traditions and methods governing how and where people pay for goods and services have been upended by the dawn of a new digital era founded on connectivity and convenience. 

“Retailers that fail to evolve, particularly in the widening frontier of ecommerce, are likely to fail.  

“Modern payment technologies offer robust security mechanisms that protect both merchants and consumers. Secure methods like tokenisation, the heart of click to pay, replace the card number with a token and bind it to a cryptogram, making it meaningless if stolen. 

“This peace of mind also extends to retailers who do not have to worry about the storage of payment data.

“By leveraging solutions like click to pay, businesses can adapt to the demands of today’s digitally driven shoppers and future-proof their operations while maintaining and building their customers’ trust.”