Data Brief: 42% of Customers Use Debit to Pay for Groceries vs 6% Digital Wallet Use

When it comes to grocery payments, shoppers are stuck in the past, compared to their retail, restaurant and travel payments.

For PYMNTS’ recent study “How Consumers Perceive Surcharge Prompts,” created in collaboration with Payroc, we surveyed 2,879 U.S. credit card users in March to learn more about their payment habits, preferences and attitudes.

The study’s findings suggest that when it comes to grocery purchases, more so than when it comes to other kinds of spending, consumers tend to opt for debit.

In fact, the study found that 42% of grocery transactions were conducted through debit card payments, well above the 32% conducted through credit card payments, the 13% paid for with cash or check, the 6% paid for with digital wallets, or the almost negligible share paid for with gift cards or other payment methods.

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In contrast, only 38% of retail transactions and restaurant transactions and 27% of travel transactions were paid for with debit cards. Meanwhile, 7% of retail purchases, 8% of restaurant purchases, and a full 14% of travel purchases were made via digital wallet.

These relatively smaller fractions, however, do not mean that the majority of consumers avoid using debit cards to pay for their retailer and restaurant purchases. In fact, just shy of two-thirds of consumers reported having used debit cards at retail stores or restaurants in the past year.

However, both restaurant and retail customers spend more when they opt to use their credit cards instead of their debit cards. The study found that the average expenditure at restaurants via credit card is about $51, compared to just $34 via debit card. Similarly, the average retail expenditure via credit card came in at $105, compared to $68 via debit card.

In fact, consumers proved to be even more conservative in their debit card purchases than in the purchases they paid for in cash, with the average restaurant cash purchase amounting to $35 and the average retail cash purchase to $90.

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