Mobile wallets as an enabler of quick commerce: adoption–usage mismatch and shipping fee friction in Generation Z

Abstract

This study examines the gap between mobile-wallet adoption and monthly quick-commerce usage among Generation Z undergraduate students at a university in Lima, from a Technology Management perspective focused on why payment technology maturity does not translate into sustained channel activation. A quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional design was used via an online self-administered survey with convenience sampling (N=158), collected from November 10–17, 2025. Findings show a clear adoption–usage mismatch: 97.47% report active use of mobile wallets, with Yape leading penetration (92%) compared to Plin (26%); however, only 50.70% placed at least one quick-commerce order per month, leaving 49.30% as non-monthly users. This gap is largely explained by shipping-fee friction, with an average perceived friction of 4.00/5 despite high perceived satisfaction with the service (7.23/10). Regarding use cases, “prepared food” dominates spending categories (72.61%), indicating that quick-commerce is primarily used for urgent, instant-gratification needs. Overall, results suggest that the key scaling barrier is not payment adoption but delivery-fee pricing management as a salient, behavior-shaping friction point.