Brick-And-Mortar Shopping Still Relevant and Cash Is Still Used – New Study From MONEY20/20

Money/20/20, the world’s leading fintech show teamed up with YouGov to take the temperature on how Generation Z in Sweden, a nation with the goal to go completely cashless, choose to shop for Valentine’s Day.

Over 300 respondents received a number of questions regarding the topic.

• What are their preferred payment methods?
• What is the gift budget during times of inflation and uncertainty?
• When does Gen Z choose to shop for their loved one?

Were some of the questions asked.

Purchases using smartphone most popular – but plenty of people still prefer brick-and-mortar shopping Over 63% of the respondents choose to complete their purchase with their smartphone rather than using a physical debit or credit card. Sweden’s most used mobile wallet Swish which has exceeded 8 million users and the mobile ID verification BankID used by 8,2 million people are to an extent contributors to the mobile payment choice indicated in this survey.

“Mobile wallets are key in Sweden’s path to a cashless society. When over 80% of its population use Swish, it truly showcases what is possible when banks cooperate for the benefit of the customer. JPMorgan Chase’s plan to build a digital wallet cooperating with banks like Bank of America and others is also proof that the US is realizing the benefits of teaming up the way Swish did in Sweden ten years ago,” said Scarlett Sieber, Chief Strategy & Growth Officer at Money20/20.

Surprisingly, almost a third (29%) choose to visit a store, taking the brick-and-mortar route over an online purchase. Perhaps this demonstrates that even in a cashless society, for Swedish women romance isn’t dead and they still need to go to the store to find the right gift, rather than buying the first box of chocolates on offer on Amazon. However, almost half of the men (47%) still prefer to shop online from the comfort of their home.

Cash still a thing – even in Sweden. Despite the fact that many shops, restaurants, and hotels no longer accept cash in Sweden, there is still a small Gen Z group that prefers cash purchases. Approximately 5% of the respondents choose this form of payment.

“The fact that as many as 5% of the GenZ respondents choose to pay with cash this Valentine’s Day is quite surprising since the Swedish Riksbank recently announced that 8% of the entire population of Sweden is still using cash as a preferred payment choice. On the other hand, Sweden has come a lot further in phasing out cash than establishing Valentine’s Day as a holiday,” said Christoffer Malmer, Head of SEB Embedded.

Stockholmers and Rural Areas- Later With Their Purchases

When Gen Z chooses to buy their gift depends to a degree on where you live in Sweden. In Stockholm and in rural areas as many as 16% buy their gift a day before Valentine’s Day. Gen
Zs in smaller towns seem to plan their shopping more ahead of time with only 8% purchasing their gift the day before.

The complete Money20/20’s YouGov survey can be found here.