Gen Z could reshape India’s gold market through digital, liquid and customised buying
A World Gold Council report says Gen Z’s preference for digital gold, liquidity, customisation and omnichannel access could modernise India’s jewellery market, alongside new monetisation and bullion-market infrastructure.
What happened
World Gold Council says Gen Z’s preference for digital gold, liquidity, customisation and omnichannel buying could modernise India’s gold and jewellery market.
Key facts
- 31,000 tonnes of household gold
- Rs 315 lakh crore estimated value of idle household gold
- Rs 314.9 lakh crore ($3.4 trillion) household gold holdings
- Nearly $2 trillion in Gen Z consumer spending by 2035
- Rs 4.5 lakh crore projected India gold jewellery market in 2025
Why this matters
Strategic buyers should target partnerships or acquisitions in digital gold, gold-loan, resale, bullion infrastructure and jewellery personalisation to create an end-to-end Gen Z gold ecosystem.
What to watch
- Growth in digital-gold transaction volumes, average ticket sizes and conversion rates into physical jewellery.
- Regulatory changes affecting digital gold, bullion vaulting, fractional ownership, KYC, taxation and consumer-protection requirements.
- Expansion of organised jewellers' buyback, exchange and gold-savings programmes.
- Gen Z share of jewellery purchases, especially in lightweight, daily-wear and self-purchase segments.
- Widening or narrowing of resale discounts, making-charge transparency and exchange spreads.
- Adoption of gold loans against hallmarked jewellery and digitally verified holdings.
- New bullion-market infrastructure, including accredited vaults, digital receipts and interoperable redemption networks.
- Build omnichannel gold wallets that allow customers to accumulate small digital balances and redeem them against certified jewellery, coins or bullion in-store.
- Make exchange, buyback and upgrade pricing transparent, with real-time purity assessment and guaranteed redemption rules.
- Launch modular, lightweight and customisable collections designed for frequent self-purchase rather than only wedding-led buying.
- Use customer data from digital savings journeys to trigger personalised offers around festivals, salary cycles, birthdays and life events.
- Partner with regulated bullion, payments, lending and insurance providers to improve custody, liquidity and trust.
- Invest in traceability, hallmarking visibility and resale certification as decision factors become more financialised.