How to Spot and Win the Mobile-First Shopper

If you want a front-row seat to the biggest behavioral shift in commerce since the magnetic stripe card, clear your calendar.

On Wednesday (Aug. 13) at noon Eastern time, PYMNTS will premiere “The Mobile-First Shopper Has Arrived,” a six-episode video series produced with Visa Acceptance Solutions. Each 10-minute conversation distills fresh data from the “2025 Global Digital Shopping Index“ into practical moves any merchant, acquirer or platform provider can act on without the jargon overload.

Here’s what attendees can expect to see (and read) as the series unfolds.

1. The Anywhere Storefront

Episode 1 sets the stakes. Six in 10 consumers now “window shop” on their phones several times a week, and nearly half of those spur-of-the-moment scans turn into a purchase.

2. The ‘Spaghetti Tech’ Problem

Commerce chiefs know what great feels like, as 3 in 4 large merchants say a unified experience is mission‑critical. However, few believe their payment stacks can keep up. Episode 2 unpacks how decades of bolt-on integrations have created tech knots that sabotage velocity and authorization rates.

3. SMBs Can Finally Play in the Big Leagues

Small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) don’t get a pass from mobile shoppers, yet only 38% deliver a seamless cross-channel experience. Episode 3 lets Visa’s Authorize.net head, Jacob Muff, show why unified commerce is cheaper, faster and more revenue-positive than most owners imagine.

4. Kill the Manual Key-In

Nothing tanks lifetime value like a false decline. In Episode 4, we learn shoppers are more than twice as likely to hit a payment error at an SMB as at a large merchant, mainly because 34% still must type card numbers by hand.

5. The Infrastructure Wars Go Underground

Behind every friction-free front end sits a processor sweating uptime. Episode 5 pulls back the curtain with Visa’s Pritesh Patel, who says 84% of acquirers will switch providers if uptime slips below 99%, yet two-thirds still rely on third-party rails precisely because they update faster than DIY stacks.

6. Why the US Is a Paradox

The finale zooms in on the United States, where mobile penetration (42% of last purchases) lags the eight-country average, yet U.S. shoppers lead the world in using stored credentials (67%). Visa’s Matt Swatzell dissects what’s fueling adoption among parents and Generation Z, as well as why reward programs remain a blind spot for 36% of merchants.

Why You Should Register Today

Each micro-episode pairs exclusive survey data with war stories from brands already sweating the details. So, you get actionable insights in less time than a latte break. This series will leave you with at least one idea you can ship this quarter.

Secure your virtual seat now and be ready when our six-part series drops Wednesday (Aug. 13) at noon — because mobile-first shoppers won’t wait.