2025 Global Digital Shopping Index: personalizing the shopping experience

The research confirms that consumers expect seamless, unified shopping experiences across channels—not just mobile but also online and in store. Nearly half of global shoppers used a mobile phone the last time they purchased a retail or grocery product, so phones have become essential in shaping the in-person and online shopping journey. As such, merchants can lose out when they lack a strong unified commerce strategy that includes digital experiences on the consumer’s phone.

To meet this expectation, merchants need to build on the concept of omnichannel commerce and develop a unified ecommerce proposition. This involves evolving the focus from merely enabling customers to move between shopping channels to seamlessly embedding key digital features for a more personalized customer experience.

The top two digital features consumers want merchants to provide are:¹

• Preferred payment methods (76%)
• A compelling rewards program (66%)
   

Offering desired features to your customers can help them feel confident they’re getting a good deal and the right product. By offering these and other key digital features, merchants can create a more unified and personalized journey that meets the demands of today’s increasingly digital shoppers and helps turn would-be buyers into paying customers.

Shoppers want fast, no-fuss checkouts when they make digital purchases. Delivering a friction-free payment experience is a must for reducing abandoned carts and avoiding lost customers.

According to the latest Global Digital Shopping Index, 56% of shoppers choose merchants that offer fast, convenient payments.² Being able to store credentials or use biometric checkout features play key roles in shortening the time to check out. Among respondents to the survey, 45% used credentials stored with a merchant to complete their most recent purchase.²

A third-party one-click solution is another common option for seamless checkout.

Around three-quarters of the merchants surveyed said that a unified experience will be crucial to satisfying customers in 2025.³ But most of them don't feel ready to deliver, and 59% are concerned about the ability of their current payment technologies to help them meet future needs.³

Visa Acceptance Solutions offers services for digital and in-person payments that help you deliver the fast, frictionless, and personalized payment experiences that can help drive conversion:

• With Digital Accept you can access a range of integrations and digital payment options that help you securely accept payments across channels and devices.
• With In-person Accept you can give customers a smooth in-person checkout experience with secure, contactless payments on smartphones and point-of-sale (POS) devices.
   

In addition, our Token Management Service collects insights from card brands and alternative payment methods, including ecommerce personalization, to provide a complete view of each customer's buying behavior across channels. You can use these insights to help create more personalized payment and reward experiences across channels, which can help increase conversions and revenue.

To find out more about the latest global trends in digital and in-person shopping, download your copy of the 2025 Global Digital Shopping Index. And look out for the next blog in the series, which will explore the topic of seamless cross-channel shopping.

Until then, feel free to reach out and learn more about how Visa Acceptance Solutions and our uniquely open payments platform can help you create more personalized and unified payment experiences.