Payment Choice and AI Reshape U.S. Shopping

PYMNTS Intelligence and Visa Acceptance Solutions’ 2026 Global Digital Shopping Index tracks how mobile devices, AI and payments are merging online and in-store retail. The U.S. findings matter because shoppers increasingly treat product discovery, price comparison and checkout as one continuous journey, raising the cost for merchants that cannot provide a consistent mobile experience or a customer’s preferred way to pay. Payment infrastructure is becoming a competitive tool, not merely a back-office function.

Published on June 1, the index draws on a March 2026 survey of 5,841 consumers and 1,185 merchants in the United States, Brazil and the United Arab Emirates. In the U.S., 46% of online shoppers used AI in their latest purchase, while 65% said acceptance of a preferred payment method influenced merchant choice. Tap-to-pay usage for the latest in-store card purchase climbed to 56% from 35% in 2022. The report did not disclose a transaction-value estimate.