Roblox shopping for creators: why Gen Z is buying more in-game
If your entire merch plan is "go viral on TikTok, slap a link in bio, pray," I've got a gentle warning: Gen Z is buying inside places that don't even look like shopping apps.
And the weird part? It's not happening in some shiny metaverse future. It's happening in games. In hangouts. In the places where attention sticks around for hours, not seconds.
Creators chase eyeballs. Platforms chase checkout. When those two finally line up, everybody else pays the tax.
What happened
A new survey from the Retail Technology Show (1,000 Gen Z shoppers) says Gen Z averaged 20 purchases on Roblox over the last 12 months - up 54% year over year. Purchases on Roblox across all age groups were up 31% in the same period. ([internetretailing.net](https://internetretailing.net/roblox-surges-past-tiktok-as-the-fastest%E2%80%91growing-gen-z-shopping-channel/?utm_source=openai))
TikTok still "wins" on raw frequency in that same dataset: Gen Z averaged 23 purchases on TikTok over the last 12 months. But the growth rate was much smaller - 10% year over year. ([internetretailing.net](https://internetretailing.net/roblox-surges-past-tiktok-as-the-fastest%E2%80%91growing-gen-z-shopping-channel/?utm_source=openai))
This isn't just kids buying sparkly avatar hats anymore. On May 15, 2025, Roblox rolled out commerce tools that let eligible creators and brands sell physical products inside Roblox experiences, with Shopify as the first integration partner. They also introduced a program that ties real-world purchases to in-game digital items (think: buy the hoodie, unlock the matching avatar drop). ([about.roblox.com](https://about.roblox.com/newsroom/2025/05/roblox-launches-shopify-integration-amp-licensing-program?utm_source=openai))
Meanwhile, TikTok Shop is still enormous. eMarketer pegs TikTok Shop's US sales at $15.82B for 2025 and expects $23.41B in 2026. During the 2025 Black Friday-Cyber Monday window, TikTok Shop said it crossed $500M in US sales. ([emarketer.com](https://www.emarketer.com/press-releases/tiktok-shop-makes-up-nearly-20-of-social-commerce-in-2025/?utm_source=openai))
And because the internet loves a third contender: live-shopping app Whatnot keeps muscling into the conversation. Women's fashion streams alone are pulling 500,000+ viewing hours per month there, and in February 2026 the platform ran a huge MrBeast event built around giveaways and live shopping. ([forbes.com](https://www.forbes.com/sites/moinroberts-islam/2026/01/28/whatnot-and-live-shopping-fashions-product-page-becomes-a-person/?utm_source=openai))
Why creators should care
Because "where people buy" is shifting from feeds to places.
TikTok commerce is impulse-driven: scroll, gasp, buy. It's brutal and effective. But it's also crowded, discount-hungry, and algorithm-dependent. You're renting the spotlight and the landlord changes the locks whenever they feel like it.
Roblox commerce is different. It's proximity. Community. Identity. People don't just see a product - they try it on (virtually), show friends, come back tomorrow, and build habits. Roblox reported 97.8M daily active users in Q1 2025. That's a whole mall that never closes. ([ir.roblox.com](https://ir.roblox.com/news/news-details/2025/Roblox-Reports-First-Quarter-2025-Financial-Results/default.aspx?utm_source=openai))
Here's the creator-shaped opportunity: Roblox's physical commerce layer can bundle digital perks with real merch. That's not "nice to have." That's a conversion weapon. Roblox even highlighted a creator studio (Twin Atlas) hitting six-figure commerce revenue within weeks after integrating in-game shopping, with most orders coming through the in-game flow. ([about.roblox.com](https://about.roblox.com/newsroom/2025/05/roblox-launches-shopify-integration-amp-licensing-program?utm_source=openai))
Also worth saying out loud: platforms keep experimenting and killing things. Amazon shut down its TikTok-style shopping feed (Inspire) in February 2025. Translation: it's not enough to copy the format. You need the culture. ([theverge.com](https://www.theverge.com/news/614730/amazon-inspire-tiktok-feed-discontinued?utm_source=openai))
Attention is a renewable resource. Trust isn't. Roblox and live-shopping both lean hard on trust. That's why this is getting interesting.
What to do next
Stop thinking "platform," start thinking "checkout moments." TikTok is still a monster for discovery. Roblox is shaping up as a high-intent environment where fans already "spend" as part of play. Whatnot is proving that trust + personality can turn shopping into an event. Pick roles for each.
If you sell merch, test a digital bundle. Even if you're not ready for a full Roblox experience, the direction is clear: physical item + digital status token (accessory, badge, cosmetic) is the new limited drop.
Make one "owned" funnel you control. Your email/SMS + site still matters because every platform's checkout rules shift. Build the boring backbone so you can survive the exciting experiments.
Partner instead of building from scratch. If you're not a game developer, don't cosplay as one. Collab with Roblox studios that already have traffic. Bring the audience + IP; let them bring the world + implementation.