Gen Z students (AKA ‘Generation Savvy’) are far more fiscally mature and risk averse than Millennials were.

This year’s student has access to the tools (source 2) (peer-to-peer payments, crypto, challenger banking) and the nous (source 3) (side hustles, saving-overcredit, financially-driven choices) that their predecessors didn’t. Many were first exposed to the economy at a time when belts were being tightened – which has left its mark.

Half of all 18- to 22-year-olds in the US are now freelancing, (source 4) and Gen Z were the only generational cohort that spent less on Amazon in 2020. Literally everybody else in the world spent more. (source 5)

Source: UCAS 2022 report.

Other references:

2 – https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2021/01/21/gen-z-and-the-futureof-spend-what-we-know-about-this-generation-thepandemic-and-how-they-pay/?sh=6b49424121eb

3 – http://www.genzinsights.com/when-it-comes-to-money-weshould-all-act-more-like-gen-z

4 – https://influencermarketinghub.com/gen-z-spendinghabits-stats/#toc-3

5 – https://influencermarketinghub.com/gen-z-spendinghabits-stats/#toc-7

6 – https://www.savethestudent.org/money/studentbudgeting/what-do-students-spend-their-money-on.html