Retail Technology Show: Roblox tops TikTok as biggest commerce channel for Gen Z shoppers

Roblox is the fastest growing Gen Z commerce channel, with order volume growth outstripping that of TikTok, according to research from Retail Technology Show 2026.

Its study of 1,000 shoppers revealed that on average Gen Z made 20 purchases on Roblox in the last 12 months, 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 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.

After exponential pandemic era growth, Roblox experienced a subsequent slowdown as consumer behaviours normalising post-Covid. But last year its 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 itscommunity spending 88.7 billion engaged hours on the platform between January and September 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,” says Matt Bradley, Founder & Event Director at 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.”

TikTok did, however, retain its crown as the number one social platform for total order volumes. In the past 12 months, 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 eight across all ages). It said first time buyers on its platform grew +374% year-on-year in 2025, with women’s fashion live streams now attracting more than 500,000 viewing hours per month in the UK.

RTS 2026

The changing dynamic of social commerce will be a key focus across the RTS conference programme at the two-day event in London during April.  

Martin Newman leads discussions on the Spark Stage on day one, including a keynote from Christiana Hawes, Senior Director at Warner Bros, outlining how customer experience will evolve by 2030. On day two, brand founder and digital broadcaster, Grace Beverley, will headline on the Supernova stage in a fireside chat with Kate Hardcastle exploring how retailers can truly embrace the social and influencer opportunity.

2026 RTIH Innovation Awards

Social commerce will also be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards are now open for entries and celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Thursday, 15th October.

Check out our 2025 winners here.

Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”

“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”

He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”

Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.