UK Contactless Card Use Up 94% YoY

The coronation has come and gone, and digital wallets and contactless cards continue to dominate the U.K. retail space. How will Brits pay for coronation swag and other retail items and groceries the next time they head to stores?

Questions of payments preference were analyzed in The 2023 Global Digital Shopping Index: U.K. Edition, a PYMNTS and Cybersource collaboration (GDSI- U.K.), surveying nearly 13,350 consumers and 3,124 merchants across six nations to get at payments trends shaping consumer experience.

Even though 42% of U.K. respondents fall into the consumer category called digital enthusiasts, largely comprised of millennials, bridge millennials and high-earners, and even though U.K. shoppers exhibit the second-highest demand for digital shopping features among the six countries studied, the U.K. It has the lowest overall average GDSI of all six nations.

In other words, U.K. shoppers encounter far more shopping friction than the average consumer across the six nations we analyzed for the annual GDSI. That said, the U.K. makes an instructive case study in digital payments choice, which is a leading indicator for economic activity.

Per the study, “payments choice is the single most important factor U.K. shoppers consider when choosing where to shop,” and held the lead in contactless card use, which it still does: 58% of in-store shoppers paid via contactless card in 2022, a 94% year over year increase.

A big part of that is around the increased use of wallets. In-store use of digital wallets tripled year over year in the U.K., as 20% of in-store shoppers paid via digital wallet in 2022.

Moving in lockstep with payments choice are the programs merchants put in place to engender loyalty and add value for consumers to keep them coming back. After payment choice, survey respondents named loyalty programs, easy store and site user experience, and free shipping as among the most important features offered by their favored merchants.

Per the study, “Convenience also plays a key role in consumers’ decisions on where to shop. Our research shows that 48% of U.K. consumers value streamlined online experiences, and 7.3% say it is the most important feature they look for when choosing between merchants. This is the third-most cited feature that consumers say they value most.”

Get Your Copy: The 2023 Global Digital Shopping Index: U.K. Edition