Survey: Digital payment preference growing among consumers

Shoppers are particular about what payment methods they like using and are letting retailers know.

According to a new survey from payment service company Adyen, 55% of consumers will abandon a purchase if they can’t pay how they want. More than a quarter (27%) of consumers say they don’t carry wallets anymore and instead are relying on the ability to tap their phone to pay, showcasing part of the changing retail environment. QR code payments are also on the rise, growing in popularity by 11% year-on-year.

“Retailers are challenged with connecting and integrating these channels while ensuring a consistent customer experience across each one,” said Alex Rhodes, global head of unified commerce at Adyen. “All this is within an increasingly global context with quickly evolving consumer demands.”

Adyen found that given the speed of customer adoption, businesses are slow to play catch-up. Only 28% accept digital wallets and just 17% support Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) both online and in-store.

Three-quarters (75%) of shoppers that use BNPL do so once a month and the average spend is $294.72 per person, globally. In the United States, the average spend is $120.61 per person, equating to approximately $31 billion spent in the country every year.

The survey found that perhaps unsurprisingly, shoppers expect fast and easy checkout experiences, both online and in person. Nearly three-in-10 consumers surveyed (28%) want retailers to use technology to make in-store shopping faster, and 39% want to see more self-checkout options for the same reason. 

However, only 15% of businesses surveyed enable self-checkout and just 20% have mobile point of sale solutions to serve customers more efficiently. Online payment experiences are also falling short, with just 19% of retailers supporting one-click checkouts.

“When it comes to speed vs customer experience, finding the right balance is crucial,” said Holly Worst, VP of retail at Adyen. “On the one hand, you want to get your customers through the checkout as fast as possible with minimal friction, and on the other hand, you want to sign them up to a loyalty program or have them engage with you in some way.”

Adyen interviewed 38,000 consumers and 13,000 businesses in 26 for the survey.