The news: Tap-to-pay is becoming a non-negotiable checkout option, per a PYMNTS Intelligence report.

Fifty-six percent of US consumers used it to pay for their last in-store purchase—a 21-percentage-point rise from 2022.

We anticipate that US proximity mobile transaction value will reach $986 billion this year, per our forecast, with the number of proximity mobile payment users rising to 125 million this year.

How we got here: US mobile wallet use is slowly catching up to peers in Europe, per Global Payments’ Global Payments Report 2026. 

• Digital wallets controlled 17% of US in-store retail checkouts in 2025.
• In comparison, digital wallets accounted for 33% of all POS value globally.

Why this matters: Merchants need to accept consumers’ preferred checkout method to capture their loyalty, especially crucial demographics.

• 71% of global high-income consumers used tap-to-pay for their latest in-store purchase.
• 69% of parents with young children report tapping to pay for their most recent in-store checkouts.
• And 66% of millennials reported the same.

These three groups use tap-to-pay above its global average (59%), per PYMNTS Intelligence, and are also the most avid digital shopping demographics. If merchants can engage these groups via digital wallets, they can increase spending online and in-store.

Implications for merchants: As consumers’ path to purchase becomes more reliant on digital wallets, tap-to-pay accessibility at the POS becomes essential. 

That means mere acceptance is no longer a differentiator. Retailers that want to stand out need to embrace mobile wallets as commerce enablers—adding their loyalty cards to major wallets and offering in-app promotions through growing financial media networks.

This content is part of EMARKETER’s subscription Briefings, where we pair daily updates with data and analysis from forecasts and research reports. Our Briefings prepare you to start your day informed, to provide critical insights in an important meeting, and to understand the context of what’s happening in your industry. Non-clients can click here to get a demo of our full platform and coverage.