Branded payments provider Blackhawk Network released its 2020 Multinational BrandedPay™ report1 revealing a surge in digital wallet adoption with 88% of surveyed shoppers in eight markets using a digital wallet of some kind. The research also found that more than half of consumers surveyed have now purchased or received a digital gift card, which unlike physical gift cards, are equally as likely to be purchased for self-use as they are to be gifted to someone else. The report examines attitudes and behaviors around shopping, payments and gifts, including research conducted both before the peak impact of the global pandemic and supplemental data2 gathered as many countries began phased re-openings.
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“Over the last few months, we’ve witnessed a rapid shift to digital when it comes to both consumer demand and the need for retailers to adapt to meet customers where and how they are shopping,” said Theresa McEndree, vice president of marketing at Blackhawk Network. “Initially, our research captured the evolving preferences of consumers in the U.S., U.K. and several other countries. As we began to approach the next phase of the COVID crisis, it became apparent that the consumer demand for digital and the glaring gaps we had identified between the digital and physical marketplace were not only still relevant, but largely accelerated or made more prominent. Now more than ever, the brands and retailers that will survive and ultimately thrive are those quickly adapting and actively looking for ways to overcome new challenges by seamlessly engaging customers across the channels they find most valuable.”
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Based on responses from more than 12,000 consumers from eight countries around the world, the data was examined to identify the following trends:
Digital wallet adoption has taken off
Eighty-eight percent of shoppers surveyed across the eight countries use a digital wallet of some kind. In the U.S., before the pandemic hit, less than 38% of Americans surveyed said they were using digital wallets to make purchases more or as often as the year before. As the economy began to reopen, that number has jumped to 55%. However, most surveyed consumers who aren’t currently using a digital wallet aren’t interested in starting. Across the eight markets, among those that don’t use a digital wallet, only 29% surveyed show any interest, with only 6% saying they are very interested.
