London, UK — 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 (RTS).
Figures from RTS’ study of 1,000 shoppers revealed that on average Gen Z made 20 purchases on Roblox in the last 12months, rising +54% year-on-year. This outgrew TikTok, which experienced a +10% 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% 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 150million globally, while it also reported a surge in engagement, with its community spending 88.7billion engaged hours on the platform between Jan and Sep 2025.
“Gen Z may soon move on from their “TikTok made me buy it” era as purchase growth on Roblox across physical and digital products continues to put on pace,” said Matt Bradley, Founder & Event Director of RTS. “While many may have previously pigeon-holed Roblox as a metaverse-dependent channel, its resurgence is gaining new momentum. Underpinned by peer-to-peer engagement – something which is declining on other platforms – Roblox’ renewed commercial success is being driven by a sense of community and digital self-expression.”
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% year-on-year in 2025, with women’s fashion streams now attracting more than 500,000 viewing hours per month in the UK.
The changing dynamic of social commerce will be a key focus across the RTS conference programme at the two-day event in April.
Consumer Champion Martin Newman leads discussions on the Spark Stage on Day 1, including a keynote from Christiana Hawes, Senior Director at Warner Bros, outlining how customer experience will evolve by 2030. On Day 2, brand founder and digital broadcaster, Grace Beverley, will headline on the Supernova stage in a fireside chat with Kate Hardcastle MBE exploring how retailers can truly embrace the social and influencer opportunity.
To register to attend, visit: Retail Technology Show 2026. The event is free to attend for retailers and consumer brands. Solution & Service Providers Passes are available.