America’s Digital Transformation Is Slow, Steady and Driven by Routine

Global digital transformation edged forward again in Q3 2022, increasing 0.7% from Q2, reflecting a continued rise in digital activities across the 11 economies we study. PYMNTS’ latest research identifies a critical shift in Q3: Consumers added more digital activities to their daily lives.

We find that consumers are conducting more digital activities daily, with a 0.9% increase in the share of respondents who used at least one digital tool every day.

These are some of the key findings from “How The World Does Digital: Different Paths To Digital Transformation,” the Q3 2022 PYMNTS ConnectedEconomy™ Index. For this report, we collected data from 30,174 individuals across 11 countries between Aug. 10 and Sept. 16 to analyze how — and how often — consumers engage in 37 different activities, drilling down into the purchases they made and the payment methods they used.

• Consumers around the world have increased their use of digital methods to conduct daily activities.

In Q3, consumers added more digital activities to their daily lives. Sixty-five percent of all consumers in the 11 countries we study engaged in one or more of the 37 digital activities we track at least once a day — a 0.9% increase from Q2 — and 73% did so at least weekly, a 0.5% quarter-over-quarter increase.

• Consumers made slightly fewer digital transactions, with Germany, Brazil, the U.K. and France showing the steepest declines. 

We found that digital transformation for activities involving transactions inched down 0.2% in Q3. For example, there was a 4.5% reduction in the use of digital grocery subscriptions. We also found that consumers in Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Brazil made fewer digital transactions than consumers in the rest of the 11 countries we study.

• Consumers in Japan increased their use of digital wallets to make in-store purchases by 20% in Q3.

In Q3, consumers in seven of the 11 countries we study increased their adoption of digital wallets for in-store payments. Overall, consumers used digital wallets for 4% more transactions than in Q2. In Japan, in-store use of digital wallets jumped by 20%, more than in any of the other countries.

“How The World Does Digital: Different Paths To Digital Transformation,” the Q3 PYMNTS ConnectedEconomy™ Index, explores the increasing centrality of digital tools in the lives of consumers. This study uncovers the biggest drivers of digital transformation and how more consumers are conducting more distinct digital activities daily.

To learn more about the current state of digital transformation, download the report.