Consumers younger than 35 use PayPal and debit cards for online purchases more than those over 35, according to JupiterResearch's "Payment Preferences Online: Managing the Generation Gap Between Mature and Young Adults" report.
Nearly half of 25-to-34-year-old consumers preferred debit cards for Internet transactions, compared with only 39% of all online consumers. Just over a third of online consumers ages 18 to 24 preferred PayPal or similar services, compared with 27% of all online consumers.
Edward Kountz of Jupiter noted that younger consumers have coexisted with technology for most of their lives, which explains their comfort with credit card alternatives like PayPal and related services, debit cards and stored value cards.
Mr. Kountz said that as a result, payment-product issuers will have "to develop marketing and product strategies to meet the payment desires and changing values of younger adults. This will include card features tailored to younger adults' lifestyle needs, and marketing efforts that embrace emerging social media."