We have witnessed a significant change in the way we pay for goods and services purchased. From days of only cash payments to today, quick and seamless digital payments from your phones, technology has inspired us to choose convenience and enhance experience. India is moving fast to become a cashless economy ever since the government launched the Digital India Campaign. The days when we carried cash in our pockets are long gone. Today, phones are our digital wallets. More and more people have adopted this drastic shift in the way we transact.

Card payment was introduced in 1980, which slowly replaced cheques and cash for large-ticket purchases. But now that the tech-savvy kids (millennials) have grown into young adults, they have been vouching for the products and services that lend comfort. Hence, it is believed that there couldn’t be a better period or generation to introduce digital payment solutions. The generation right before millennials (Gen X) are technologically less advanced and have totally different philosophies as compared to the millennial generation.

What Sets Millennials Apart from Gen X?

	Gen X	Millennials (Gen Y)
Born Between	1965-1979	1980-2000
Born Between	41 to 55 years of age	20 to 40 years of age
Characteristics	This generation is financially independent and considers technology to be a learned skill.	This generation is up-to-date with recent trends and extremely savvy with technology.
Media Consumption	Prefers watching TV and consumes content via radio, magazines, and newspaper.	They watch TV but edge the cable service off with streaming services. This generation uses smartphones to stay updated with current affairs.
Professional Life	Believes in hard work	Believes in smart work
Transactions	Prefers cash payment as it saves them from the complexities of technology.	Prefers mobile payment as it enables them to go cashless.

In a nutshell, the majority of people from Generation X are laggards in terms of digital payment adoption as they are not comfortable with technology and find it unreliable. In contrast, millennials favour digital payments as it lends convenience and supports quick seamless transactions. While Gen X will make an additional effort of carrying a wallet (along with the change), a millennial will simply pay using their smartphone.

How do Millennials Pay?

As per the BCG report, 36% of the Indian population is Generation Y (millennials), which is the largest population of millennials in a country, followed by the US at 21% and China at 17%.

This generation is radically different from their predecessors, Gen X. Characteristics like having a zest for life and finding utmost pleasure in comfort set them apart from previous generations. These minute differences in their thought process reflect in their paying behaviour as well. According to an online study conducted by YouGov and ACI Worldwide, a global provider of real-time electronic payment and banking solutions, younger consumers preferred digital payments (48 per cent for Gen Y and 42 per cent for Gen Z) and their adoption was consistent across the two age groups.

A millennial won’t bother taking a wallet along to purchase a packet of bread. Being a generation that’s always wired to their phones, they will choose to pay via mobile payment methods - QR code or UPI. To support that further, as per National Payments Council of India’s product statistics, UPI clocked 1325.69 million transactions in February 2020.

The natural flair with technology makes them gravitate towards brands that offer flexible payment options. Hence, millennial behaviour and the size of their population in our country has been the driving force behind reshaping the digital payment ecosystem in India.

How Can Retail Businesses be Millennial Ready?

Now that we have established that millenials form a major portion of your target audience, and this majority prefers convenience, seamless experience and the flexibility of digital payments.

Hence, it is imperative for businesses to be equipped with a smart and future-ready payment platform that gives you:

1. Digital Payment Readiness: Ability to accept all new age digital payment methods including those that may come in the future
2. Omni Channel Solution: Ability to accept payments anywhere, as digital savvy customers are always on the go
3. Unparalleled Customer experience to help you stand out in today’s cut throat competition
4. Simplified payment process to shorten transaction time and eliminate queues
5. Integrated discounts, cashback and affordability solutions to attract more digital-ready customers

Basically, to attract a millennial to your store will require you to provide a superior and technologically advanced payment experience that’s easy and effortless. Often the billing counter is where the buying process is interrupted due to cumbersome manual processes, lack of change, limited payment options, and long queues. Millennials do not have the patience for poor experiences and long processes. They are the generation that enjoys the little perks of technology. Your payments process also needs to be tailored to create an atmosphere that your customers are familiar with.

A robust and integrated payment solution can help you establish that environment.

Ezetap also provides smart and efficient payment solutions that facilitate all digital payments across all touchpoints including at the billing counter, anywhere within the store, kiosk machines, at the doorstep, and SMS payment.Contact us on 1800 313 141516, or email on hello@ezetap.com to know how we can help you be millennial ready with our Universal payment platform.