Roblox has emerged as the fastest growing Gen Z commerce channel, with order volume growth outstripping that of TikTok, according to the latest research from the Retail Technology Show.
Figures from its study of 1,000 shoppers revealed that, on average, Gen Z made 20 purchases on Roblox in the last 12 months, rising by 54 per cent year-on-year. This outgrew TikTok, which experienced a +10 per cent uptick in the number of orders placed by Gen Z consumers in the last year.
When it came to order volumes on Roblox, Gen Z were the most prolific across all age groups, making almost two and a half (x2.4) times as many purchases. However, the number of Roblox purchases made across shoppers of all ages also surged +31 per cent in the last year, demonstrating the fast growth of the platform among wider demographics.
After exponential pandemic-era growth, Roblox experienced a subsequent slowdown as consumer behaviours normalising post-covid. However, last year Roblox’ growth re-ignited as it widened its audience and moved into selling physical goods, as well as the digital products and NFTs it was previously best known for. Roblox’ daily active users in 2025 grew to more than 150 million globally, while it also reported a surge in engagement, with its community spending 88.7 billion engaged hours on the platform between Jan and Sep 2025.
While RTS’ research showed Roblox to be the fastest growing commerce channel for Gen Z, TikTok retained its crown as the number one social platform for total order volumes. In the past 12months, Gen Z made an average of 23 purchases on TikTok, over twice as many purchases compared to shoppers across all age groups (23 vs 11).
Gen Z consumers were also the most frequent purchasers on Whatnot, making an average of 16 orders on the live streaming network (compared to 8 across all ages). As the popularity of live streaming goes mainstream, Whatnot said first-time buyers on its platform grew +374 per cent year-on-year in 2025, with women’s fashion streams now attracting more than 500,000 viewing hours per month in the UK.
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