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SalarySe finds Gen Z UPI spend tilts to bills, subscriptions and grocery

Our read

India's Gen Z payment economy will increasingly be won through recurring essentials and bundled subscriptions, making UPI utility and merchant loyalty more valuable than broad cashback.

For operators

Gen Z’s UPI spending is anchored in recurring bills, subscriptions and grocery, making payment convenience, retention offers and everyday-category partnerships more valuable than travel-led promotions.

Watch

Growth in UPI Autopay mandates and bill-payment transaction volumes.

The report,

SalarySe’s analysis of over 5.2 lakh Indian salaried Gen Z users finds UPI-led spending concentrated in bills, subscriptions, grocery and financial services. Everyday categories exceed 70% of monthly outlay, while travel accounts for 5% and Jio leads entertainment subscriptions.

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Reported figures

From the report. Source details below

Bill payments and subscriptions: 20.1% of monthly consumption spending
Grocery: 15.7%
Financial services: 12.2%

What to watch next

  • Changes in average monthly Gen Z spend on quick commerce, grocery and utilities versus discretionary categories.
  • Jio, telecom and OTT bundle launches, price increases and subscriber-churn disclosures.
  • Cashback or loyalty-program shifts by PhonePe, Google Pay, Paytm, banks and large merchants.
  • Travel-spend acceleration, which would indicate a move away from necessity-led consumption concentration.

The counter-case

The case against this reading — not reported by the source.

The data may overstate a structural Gen Z preference for essentials: salaried SalarySe users are a narrow, app-mediated cohort, and UPI records can miss card, cash, family-paid and employer-funded spending. High bills, subscriptions and grocery shares may simply reflect recurring transactions being easier to observe than discretionary purchases. Jio's subscription lead may reflect bundled telecom plans rather than superior standalone entertainment demand.

The source

Source Read the source at Mint Published

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Note Information, not investment advice. RetailIntel is not registered with SEBI.