Smartphone shopping in stores grows as mobile reaches 53% of purchases

Smartphone shopping in stores has become a central retail behavior, with consumers now using mobile devices for 53% of purchases, according to PYMNTS Intelligence and Visa Acceptance Solutions. Their report, Global Digital Shopping Index: The AI-Powered Shopper Has Arrived, says phones increasingly shape the buying process before a customer reaches checkout, affecting product discovery, price comparison, reviews, inventory checks, loyalty offers and in-store payment.

The finding points to a broader change in retail competition. The phone is no longer only a device for completing an online order. It has become a tool shoppers use inside stores and across digital channels to decide what to buy, where to buy it and how to pay.

PYMNTS Intelligence and Visa Acceptance Solutions said consumers do not separate stores, websites, apps, marketplaces and social commerce in the way retailers often organize their operations. Shoppers move between those points of sale according to the task at hand: finding an item, judging its value, arranging delivery or pickup, and completing payment securely.

What does smartphone shopping in stores mean for retailers?

For retailers, the report indicates that mobile strategy extends beyond app design or a shorter checkout flow. A shopper comparing prices or reading reviews from a store aisle can leave for a rival’s listing, social feed or marketplace result if product information, offers or fulfillment options do not align.

A smartphone functions as a portable layer of information and transaction capability. It carries stored payment credentials, loyalty data, product details and external price signals into the physical store. That reduces the advantage retailers once had when the customer was standing in an aisle with limited outside information.

The report says mobile use can expose gaps between retail channels. A promotion available online but missing in store, an inaccurate inventory count or a loyalty benefit that fails to appear at checkout can interrupt a sale. Faster payment alone cannot compensate for weak product information or unavailable merchandise.

The operational burden therefore sits across the retailer, rather than only with eCommerce teams. The report links mobile performance to merchandising, marketing, store operations, loyalty programs, technology, fulfillment and payments. Each function contributes to whether the customer remains within the retailer’s system or turns to another seller.

How payments fit into the mobile retail shift

Payments remain a visible part of the shopping process, but the report frames them as one element of a wider set of connected systems. A consistent mobile experience depends on accurate inventory, unified customer identity, synchronized promotions, flexible fulfillment and payment tools that work across channels.

When payments are linked with identity, loyalty and fulfillment, checkout can confirm more than the transfer of funds. It can connect the shopper’s rewards, delivery or pickup choice, and customer record in a single transaction. The report says treating payment as only the final step risks missing the wider role mobile now plays in commerce.

The 53% mobile purchase figure, as reported by PYMNTS Intelligence and Visa Acceptance Solutions, signals that phones are influencing a large share of transactions. The broader implication for retailers is that the decision to buy is increasingly formed on a mobile device, even when the customer is standing in a store or completes the purchase through another channel.

This story draws on original reporting from PYMNTS.