Visa Says Online Deal Hunting Sustains Consumers’ Discretionary Spending

Consumers around the world are continuing to make discretionary purchases despite rising prices, according to Visa.

Rather than cutting back, consumers are seeking deals, often with the help of digital commerce, the company said in a Tuesday (June 30) press release outlining findings from the Visa Business and Economic Insights (VBEI) 2026 midyear Global Economic Outlook.

“As digital commerce continues to reshape how people shop and pay, consumers are finding more ways to compare prices and stretch their budgets, helping to keep inflation in check,” Visa Chief Economist Wayne Best said in the release.

That discretionary spending is one of three forces that will help the global economy grow 2.4% in 2026, alongside the growth of online shopping in smaller markets and a global surge in business investment, according to the release.

The expansion of digital commerce has been seen in smaller, “peripheral” cities that are outside the urban core that already had high levels of online activity, the report found.

Across the nearly 600 peripheral cities VBEI analyzed in its report, the share of cards with card-not-present transactions rose from 31% in 2019 to 56% in 2026. Over the same period, the share of cards with card-not-present purchases in core cities remained in the mid- to high-80% range, per the report.

This expansion of online shopping brings stronger price competition and lower inflation to more communities, the report said.

The third force supporting global economic growth, business investment, is being driven by the buildout of artificial intelligence capabilities, the transition to cleaner energy sources and the development of secure strategic supply chains, according to the release.

This investment creates jobs, supports household spending and helps carry the economy. It helps to offset the impact of higher energy costs, per the release.

Best said in the release that businesses are making investments “at levels we haven’t seen since 2010 — a trend that is helping support global growth.”

The PYMNTS Intelligence report “The Three-Speed Consumer Economy: How Financial Capacity Is Rewriting Spending Behavior” found that weak consumer confidence has not stopped consumer spending.

Some consumers have enough savings and job security to keep buying, others hunt for value while continuing to spend, and a third group is weakening in their spending, according to the report.

Another PYMNTS Intelligence report, “Inside the Cutback Economy: How Age, Behavior and Financial Pressure Shape Consumer Spending,” found that while 83% of consumers said everyday prices increased, only 38% said they planned to reduce spending during the following three months.

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