Gen X take spending crown – What it means for retail and payments

For decades, retailers have fixated on Baby Boomers and Millennials as the twin pillars of consumer spending. Yet a quiet generational shift is underway.

Gen X take spending crown

In 2025, Generation X – those born between 1965 and 1980 – are set to overtake Baby Boomers as the world’s biggest spenders, with global retail expenditure reaching an estimated $15.2 trillion (£11.3 trillion).

In the UK, where Gen X make up around 20% of the population, their spending power is beginning to reshape both the High Street and online commerce.

Economic Influence

The transition reflects a broader rebalancing of economic influence. While Boomers remain asset-rich, many are now retired and reducing consumption.

By contrast, Gen Xers, now aged between 45 and 60, are at peak earning capacity and also the largest contributors to the UK tax base.

Despite being smaller in number than Millennials, their aggregate spending eclipses both older and younger cohorts – and will continue to do so well into the next decade.

For retailers and payment providers, this demographic shift is more than symbolic.

It challenges long-held assumptions about consumer behaviour, advertising, and the role of digital channels.

Gen X

Gen X is sometimes labelled the “last analogue generation”, but the characterisation is misleading.

While they grew up before smartphones and social media, they have embraced digital tools with pragmatism.

Unlike Boomers, they are just as comfortable transacting online as in-store. And unlike Millennials, they are less driven by influencer culture and more by transparent product performance, independent reviews, and reliable customer service.

This makes them the most “omnichannel” generation.

Research shows they move fluidly between online and physical retail, researching products via platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and Instagram, then choosing whichever channel – digital or High Street – offers the best balance of value and convenience.

For payment providers, this underscores the need to deliver seamless experiences across channels, whether that means frictionless in-store contactless, intuitive online checkout, or reliable refund and returns processes.

Gen X shoppers also place a premium on brand loyalty and quality assurance.

Having weathered both the 2008 financial crisis and the pandemic, they exhibit a cautious streak when it comes to discretionary spending.

A significant share has turned to international e-commerce platforms in search of price competitiveness, but they still demand transparency in shipping, refund policies and customer protection.

This insistence on both value and reliability points to a wider shift: the payment journey itself is increasingly central to the consumer experience.

A Clear Message for Retail

For retailers, the message is clear. Traditional broadcast advertising and print may no longer resonate, but nor do flashy, influencer-led campaigns.

Instead, investment must go into omnichannel retail strategies underpinned by trusted payments infrastructure.

Those who can provide convenience, reassurance and consistency across both physical and digital touchpoints are best placed to capture the loyalty of the UK’s new biggest spenders.

Gen X may once have been overlooked, sandwiched between Boomers and Millennials, but their rise to the top of the spending hierarchy marks a decisive change in the consumer economy.

For the payments sector, the next decade will be shaped not by the youngest or oldest buyers, but by a generation that straddles the analogue and digital worlds – and insists on getting the best of both.