Meet the always-on American shopper

U.S. consumers now average 1.7 digitally-assisted shopping activities a day—up 11% since 2024—and the shoppers driving that growth are more mobile, more AI-enabled and more likely to buy.

The U.S. edition of the 2026 Global Digital Shopping Index examines how digital shopping frequency, mobile behavior, payment preferences and AI adoption are influencing how people shop across both physical and digital channels.

For merchants, the opportunity is to connect discovery and checkout as one seamless system, by making products easier to find, preferred payment methods easier to use and agent-assisted journeys easier to trust—and more likely to convert.

Get the report

How U.S. consumers shop online in 2026

46%

of online shoppers used AI during their most recent purchase

1.7

digital shopping activities completed each day by U.S. shoppers across mobile, web and AI

62%

of U.S. shoppers expect to use an AI shopping agent within two years

Win the always-on shopper

Digital shopping activity is rising, but the growth is concentrated among high-frequency segments. Daily mobile browsers log 53 buying-related digital days a month, while AI users log 52—well above the overall average of 32.

Merchants can stay in the running by connecting discovery to a fast, reliable checkout and ensuring preferred payment methods work consistently wherever shoppers choose to buy.

Turn mobile intent into conversion

Phone use while shopping in a physical store rose to 42% in 2026, up from 30% in 2024.

A fast, consistent mobile experience helps merchants convert this in-the-moment intent, whether the journey ends online, in-app or in the aisle.

Prepare discovery and checkout for AI

AI is already influencing U.S. shopping journeys, yet most merchants are not equipped to capture or transact with that traffic. Only 15% of U.S. merchants have structured data an AI agent can read, and just 24% can identify when a sale came from an AI platform.

Making product data agent-readable and pairing it with authenticated, tokenized checkout can help turn AI-assisted discovery into completed purchases.

Get the report

Register now to get the U.S. edition of the 2026 Global Digital Shopping Index.

The report includes:

How high-frequency U.S. shoppers are changing the pace of digital commerce
Why mobile behavior and payment acceptance increasingly influence merchant choice
Where consumer demand and merchant capabilities remain out of step
How to prepare product data and checkout for agent-assisted shopping

You’ll also receive access to the full series of GDSI reports from this year.

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Make payments your business advantage

Meet the demands of next-generation commerce with flexible solutions designed to support mobile-first, AI-driven, and always-on shopping experiences.

Digital acceptance

Accept a wide range of payment methods, including cards, wallets, and emerging alternative payment methods. Deliver consistent, flexible experiences that support how customers browse, decide, and buy today, whether online, in-app, or across connected environments.

Accept everywhere

In-person acceptance

Connect your in-store experiences and your physical checkout with digital journeys. Support mobile-assisted shopping, unified experiences, and consistent payment flows across every touchpoint.

Upgrade your acceptance

Fraud management

Build trust in every transaction with tools designed to help reduce fraud and support secure, reliable payments across channels. Strengthen your ability to confidently approve more valid transactions while preparing for increasingly automated, AI-driven commerce.

Fight fraud confidently

Tokenization

Secure sensitive payment data with tokenization while helping to enable safer, more flexible transactions. Support the shift toward AI-driven commerce with secure, rule-based payment credentials designed for automated and machine-initiated transactions.

Unleash the super token