With a collective buying power of nearly $150 billion, Gen Z wants the fast, easy and secure login experience that passwordless authentication provides — they’re ready to go passwordless and are waiting on businesses to catch up

Transmit Security, the Identity Experience™ company, announced the release of its new survey: “How Gen Z Is Shaping the Future of Passwordless.” The report includes survey findings from more than 600 Gen Zers in the U.S., ages 18 to 24, taking a deep dive into everything from their password habits and login preferences to online shopping behaviors and device usage. The primary takeaway from Transmit Security’s report is that Gen Z is intolerant of poor login experiences. If it’s too difficult or complicated, you’ve likely already lost their business. They prefer mobile phones and want both ease of use and security. This means businesses must do more to protect their accounts while simplifying the login experience.

According to the survey, 85.3% of the Gen Z participants use a mobile phone to do some or all of their online shopping, and 83.3% use a smartphone to log in to their banking accounts and payment systems, with 37% only using their phones for online banking and payments.

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“How Gen Z Is Shaping the Future of Passwordless”

While this demographic is largely mobile-first consumers, nearly 58.2% have failed to complete a website registration because the process was overly complex. More than 50% of Gen Zers have left a website and 49.5% have abandoned an online purchase all because they forgot their password. These stats are alarming, especially when you consider that Gen Z is “the most marketed-to group of children, teens and young adults in modern history,” according to eMarketer. In fact, analysts estimate that Gen Z already has a collective buying power of nearly $150 billion.

Reports indicate that Gen Z’s economic power is the fastest growing across the globe, with earnings expected to hit $33 trillion by 2030, accounting for more than 25% of all global income. With so much purchasing power, Gen Z is a key demographic for brands — but many businesses are losing out because they fail to provide seamless enrollment and login experiences.

One of the most surprising findings is that one in three Gen Zers have more than one mobile phone number. With 62% of survey participants claiming an SMS OTP (one time passcode) never arrived, even after clicking “Send again,” it’s likely OTPs are being sent to another phone linked to the account. This leads to drop offs and lost revenue. The only way to solve this problem and eliminate friction is to get rid of SMS OTPs entirely.

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With nearly 80% admitting they have used the “Forgot My Password” option within the last few months, and more than 50% confirming they reuse the same password for different accounts, traditional passwords simply do not work with this demographic. Instead, Gen Zers and businesses alike will greatly benefit from offering a passwordless authentication experience that completely eliminates passwords from the full customer journey.

“The Gen Z demographic is not just digitally native, they have grown up with the world in their hands, constantly connected on either a mobile phone or tablet. Our findings confirm they want it all: fast, easy and secure online experiences. We also discovered many are reckless with their passwords, so businesses need to protect their accounts for them,” said Transmit Security CEO and Co-Founder Mickey Boodaei.

“The data shows Gen Z is ready for passwordless authentication, and only BindID enables them to log in from any device, on any channel. They’ve been using fingerprint or face ID to unlock their phones for years. Gen Z is just waiting for businesses to catch up,” added Boodaei.