19M More Consumers Went Online to Bank, Buy and Pay Bills in May 2022

Some news outlets would have us believe that consumers are over the pandemic and partying like it’s 2019 — except they are not. Mask mandates and travel restrictions are lifting, and more consumers are leaving their homes to travel, attend concerts and dine in restaurants, but that does not mean they are using their connected devices any less — quite the opposite. In fact, more consumers are going online to complete their daily activities than ever.

That is according to PYMNTS’ latest ConnectedEconomy Monthly Report: The Brick-And-Mortar Economy Goes Digital. We surveyed 2,599 consumers as part of our ongoing research into how the continued digitization of the United States economy is reshaping consumers’ lives and how they are re-engaging with the physical world.

Key findings from our research include the following:

• As they re-enter the physical world, consumers’ demand for digital experiences is going up, not down. In fact, 43% percent of consumers reported regularly engaging in digital-first activities last month — the highest level of digital engagement observed since November 2021.

• We are witnessing a widespread increase in the share of consumers buying food online, driven primarily by a spike in online grocery orders. Fifteen percent more consumers bought their groceries online in May, with more consumers than ever acquiring grocery orders through almost every ordering channel: home delivery, in-store pickup, same-day delivery, subscriptions and curbside pickup.

• Consumers’ eagerness to leave the house is also helping drive a high degree of online travel and transportation activity. Thirty-three percent of all consumers — an estimated 84 million people — now go online to complete at least some part of their travel journeys, far more than seen since November 2021.

These are only a few of the shopping trends that PYMNTS observed in the latest installment of our ongoing research. The ConnectedEconomy Monthly Report: The Brick-And-Mortar Economy Goes Digital details why consumers’ digital-first shopping habits are here to stay.

To learn more about how the digital transformation is reshaping the way consumers interact with the physical world, download the report.