When it comes to Generation Z, the cohort continues to surprise retailers with their general attitudes toward money, spending and taking on debt. A new report titled “Gen Z Money Manners Report 2024” by Cash App examines how the cohort’s consumer behavior sentiments toward summer spending, the costs associated with weddings and more.
The study, conducted by DKC Analytics, surveyed 1,000 U.S. people from the ages of 16 to 26 and found that money remains tight for Gen Z.
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Fifty-three percent of Gen Z surveyed said they have spent beyond their means. Moreover, 79 percent of people surveyed said they have some regret from spending too much last summer — with 42 percent of people citing dining out as the most common reason.
As previously reported by WWD, Gen Z has also continued to experience losing friendships over money — 73 percent of the demographic reported that they had at least one negative experience due to cost sharing with friends. Eighty percent of Gen Z went on to say that they’re stressed about going on vacation with friends because of this.
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Moreover, 42 percent of survey respondents said they have argued over splitting costs and 21 percent of people said they have struggled to pay their bills because of expense splitting with friends. However, 39 percent of people said calculating the exact bills is the preferred method when going to a restaurant or bar. And notably, 43 percent of people agreed that they wouldn’t be OK with splitting the bill equally when one person ordered way more.
“Gen Z was raised in an era of clear communication and naming their boundaries,” Lindsay Bryan-Podvin, financial therapist at Cash App told WWD. “This has translated into their relationship with money and friends.”
Overspending on weddings and related activities and trips has also become a major source of stress. Forty percent of Gen Z said that they feel it’s “inappropriate to ask attendees to pay their share of a large bill that may be out of their means.” Bryan-Podvin notes that Gen Z is a generation that is value-driven and empathetic, driving them to challenge the status-quo assumption that friends should “suck it up” and spend more money than they’re comfortable with or incur debt for major life events such as weddings.
“Gen Z is in a transitional life stage, navigating early careers, competing with financial demands like weddings and vacations with friends, wanting to enjoy life and struggling with how to cope financially,” Bryan-Podvin concludes. “Anecdotally, it seems like they are falling into two categories: those who feel like they can’t come back from their financial overspending and will continue to spend, and those who are overcorrecting and saying ‘no’ with more frequency to expensive trips.”