• Billions of dollars in originated auto loans contain fraud or misrepresentation annually, and notable shares of auto lenders cite fraud as more concerning this year than last.
• Approximately one-quarter of auto lenders do not track their fraud losses, according to external data — making it hard to quantify the size of the problem.
• Auto lenders are turning to new technologies like AI, and third-party cybersecurity and verification tools can also help counter fraud by verifying identities in major transactions.

• Overall, 53% of U.S. consumers have interest in receiving a new credit product in the next year, with income not a meaningful differentiator.
• PYMNTS Intelligence data found several key factors that do impact consumers' credit appetite, however, including trends with credit balances and the number of accounts held.
• A deep analysis of credit user profiles reveals opportunities banks and other lenders are missing.

• 63% of BNPL users report that cash flow management is an important reason they chose to use BNPL.
• Nearly 50% of Generation Z and millennial consumers have used BNPL in the past 12 months.
• Overall, more consumers use BNPL strategically as a choice to manage cash flow than use it out of necessity to cover a need.

• The share of Gen Z consumers living paycheck to paycheck has risen 32%.
• Overall, nearly two-thirds of consumers live paycheck to paycheck — a figure up 8 percentage points year over year.
• The actual average cost of an unexpected expense in the U.S. is more than 3.5 times the $400 benchmark set by the Federal Reserve.

• Mothers are 14% less likely to seek preventative services for medical care than single women.
• Just 71% of moms get preventative medical care, and around one-quarter do not seek care at all for themselves.
• In addition to finances being a barrier, access to transportation services strongly correlated with positive overall health in the Women’s Wellness Index.

• According to their CMOs, just 20% of enterprises use GenAI in the most strategic and impactful ways.
• 4 in 5 CMOs using GenAI for low-impact tasks primarily employ it to support market research.
• Routine application users expect full GenAI integration for their organizations within eight years.

• Necessary financers use credit cards sparingly for non-essential spending. When they do, though, they spend significantly more than when they use debit.
• While 53% of choice financers earn more than $100,000 a year, only 34% of necessary financers do.
• Choice financers are twice as likely as necessary financers to say they would never use a credit product with additional costs.

• Two in 5 heads of product at firms generating $400 million to $750 million in revenue operate under high uncertainty.
• Heads of product feel uncertainty’s impacts, with 48% reporting diminished profit margins and 32% citing missed opportunities.
• Nearly 1 in 3 heads of product say customer demand behavior is a top source of uncertainty across the middle market.

• SMBs generating more than $150,000 in revenues are more likely to implement innovation strategies for growth than SMBs generating less than $150,000 in revenues.
• One-third of SMBs use AI, but more than half of SMBs with growing revenues use AI in some way.
• AI can help SMBs reach their business goals: Nearly all SMBs that use AI find it effective.

• Payments modernization is not just a technological upgrade; it’s a strategic necessity being driven by the need to meet the dynamic, emerging expectations of end-customers.
• As innovation continues to shape the landscape, prioritizing payments security and compliance is the best way to sustainably deploy and scale next-generation payment mechanisms.
• B2B payments, and businesses in general, may have the most to gain from embracing payments innovation over the next few years.

• Nearly 60% of large firms use at least five systems for AP.
• Using AI automation to complete the source-to-pay cycle with one tool can fuel faster AP payments and lessen human involvement.
• Seventy-eight percent of enterprise CFOs surveyed say access to AI technology in AP is important or extremely important.

• Paycheck-to-paycheck consumers say financial limitations are the most important reason not to travel, yet those who are comfortably able to save are the most likely to choose a staycation.
• When consumers travel, most are increasing their spending due to both inflation and desire to treat themselves.
• Consumers, especially those living paycheck to paycheck, are making compromises to make their summer travel happen.

• 62% of U.S. consumers plan to travel in the summer months, and 27% plan to take multiple vacations.
• Despite budgetary constraints, 44% of consumers who live paycheck to paycheck and struggle to pay monthly bills plan to hit the road.
• 52% of high-earning consumers expect fellow travelers to help with travel expenses.

• Zillennials are 90’s kids, the cross-section of younger millennials and older Gen Z.
• Zillennials are more likely to invest but also to have debt compared to the average consumer.
• Zillennials often prefer socially conscious merchants but still shop at big chains for groceries.

• Consumers plan to spend more on summer travel this year, at about $2400 on average.
• Credit cards are the most popular way to pay for travel, driven by reward and cash-back programs.
• Most consumers who prefer paying with credit cards like a single charge, but pay later plans also have substantial appeal.

• 30% of heads of payments at middle-market businesses report high levels of uncertainty due to supply chain integrity, leading all areas.
• 42% of heads of payments reported missing opportunities over prevailing uncertainties resulting from errors and delays.
• For both heads of payments and CFOs, analyzing data to understand trends and gain insights is the favorite approach to mitigating uncertainty.

• 78% of mothers prioritize their household’s health over their own well-being.
• Mothers were 14% less likely to seek preventative services for medical care than single women without children.
• “I always care about others more, and I tend to get so involved that I unintentionally give myself less attention,” said a middle-income Gen Z woman.

• Just 30% of enterprises fully use strategic, high-impact GenAI applications.
• 39% of CFOs at companies with the highest total impact of GenAI applications report very positive ROI.
• Firms using GenAI less strategically are 50% more likely than the average company to say a lack of executive support hinders their success.

• Payment by credit card decreased slightly in some spending categories last quarter as money-in-hand spending increased, with the use of cash up 34% from last year for groceries and 23% for retail suggesting that consumers continue to confront economic uncertainty.
• Meanwhile, digital wallet usage surged among younger consumers, with debit cards now underpinning half of digital wallet transactions across grocery and retail.
• Finally, cash spending at restaurants has increased 12% since 2023, with the use of cash again gaining ground last quarter to approach 23% of spending in this category among older, wealthier consumers.

• Companies seeking certainty amidst a macro backdrop of ongoing uncertainty are investing in technology while staying ahead of innovation.
• As innovation continues to shape the landscape, prioritizing security and risk management can become a growth engine rather than a cost center.
• As businesses tentatively return to a growth mindset, using payments innovation and embracing digital transformation is emerging as a crucial strategy.

• The post-pandemic growth for most Main Street businesses surpasses analysts’ expectations.
• Main Street businesses in the construction and remodeling sectors have seen the most significant upticks in both growth and wages.
• U.S. Main Street businesses in the Mountain states have experienced a 53% growth surge in the last decade.

• SMBs have maintained a relatively low risk of closure over the past year, even as the U.S. business bankruptcy rate has risen.
• Closure risk varies among SMBs, yet larger ones offering more diverse sales channels have the lowest risk of shutting down.
• Overall, the risk that SMBs close is now 44% less than three years ago.

• Paycheck-to-paycheck consumers cite a variety of reasons for their financial lifestyle, with Gen Z the most likely to cite splurging on nonessentials as a financial stressor.
• Despite more indulgent spending behaviors, young adults have higher savings relative to their annual income.
• Gen Z consumers are more likely to cite buying a home or car as top financial goals, and less likely to cite retirement.

• More than half of middle-market CFOs interviewed said that challenges in receiving payment contribute significantly to their uncertainty.
• Surveyed CFOs whose business customers have more than 30 net days to pay an invoice attributed 4.6%, or $19 million, in lost revenue to payment uncertainty.
• Fifty-five percent of middle-market firms would be willing to pay 3% of the invoice amount to accept payment using a solution that automates invoicing approval and payment to deliver certainty.

• Main Street SMB’s revenue growth exceeded nominal GDP Growth in 2023, reversing a yearslong trend.
• In January 2024, more than half of Main Street SMBs reported increasing revenues.
• Older SMBs are growing more slowly than younger ones: In January 2024, just 27% of Main Street SMBs that have been in business for more than 20 years reported increasing revenues.

• Banks are evolving in the wake of the great digital shift to offer robust omnichannel experiences.
• They need to collaborate with FinTechs and use data to fine-tune their services and products — and take a cue from eCommerce giants.
• The branch will become a key competitive advantage to maintain customer loyalty and a personalized, high-touch, high-value-add experience.

• Turnout for the Big Spring Sale was around 29% lower than turnout for Prime Days events, although that still represents 28% of U.S. consumers.
• 42% of consumers who did not participate had no idea the event was going on.
• Unlike Prime Days, this sale was open to nonsubscribers, and nearly 1 in 4 Prime nonmembers who participated in the event ended up subscribing to Prime.

• Despite signals of less financial distress, consumer engagement with supplemental income is common, and supplemental income is central to the financial health of nearly one-third of consumers
• Top earners are the most likely to engage with side hustles, and more top earners earn active supplemental income than passive supplemental income.
• 3 in 10 consumers sold a used item in the 12 months, and resale channel engagement correlates with age more than with financial standing, suggesting that the used item market may remain a key tool for consumers.

• 47% of CFOs from smaller middle-market firms face considerable levels of uncertainty, and they are more than twice as likely to face this as the largest middle-market firms.
• 35% of middle-market firms say uncertainty led to missed opportunities last year.
• CFOs that identify excess inventory costs as the biggest source of uncertainty report that more than 6% of annual revenue — or $33 million — was lost.

• In Q4 2023, Amazon’s gross sales reached $209 billion, up 17% from the same quarter last year.
• Food and beverage remains Walmart’s province. The company’s share of sales in that market for 2023 stands at nearly 19%.
• Amazon has extended its leadership in key discretionary categories such as home furnishings, electronics and clothing.
• Both retailers are still undisputed champions in the retail aren; collectively, they account for 6.5% of all 2023 U.S. consumer spending.

• More consumer-facing commerce and B2B transactions are moving online, and merchants and FIs must re-examine their security and authentication protocols.
• There’s room for advanced technologies such as biometrics and AI to be used as tools in multi-factor authentication.
• The key challenge remains the balancing act between friction and a seamless user experience.

• A recent New York Fed survey shows most Americans believe their financial conditions and expectations are improving.
• A concurrent PYMNTS Intelligence survey found U.S. consumers to be similarly upbeat; however, most expressed “tempered optimism.”
• PYMNTS Intelligence found that many consumers anticipate a tougher job market, reduced wage growth and increased interest rates in 2024.

•Consumer retail spending rises nearly 7% year over year in December, marking a lift in shoppers’ confidence due to lower inflation.
•Consumers’ expectations for what they are going to pay for items in the retail sector is increasingly optimistic.
•When shopping for gifts for others, 55% of consumers plan their spending in advance.

• Lingering inflation erodes consumers’ purchasing power, leading them to constantly adjust their purchasing behavior to preserve their standard of living.
• U.S. consumers continue to cut back by reducing nonessential spending, switching to cheaper retailers and opting for lower-quality products.
• In response to the current inflationary environment, some consumers have explored secondhand retailers as an alternative to meet their demand for lower-priced goods.

• Instant payments will initially transform merchant/consumer interactions but will transform commercial transactions too
• Providers — including FIs — will have to examine the infrastructure and connectivity needed to meet burgeoning demand.
• Fraud and risk defenses will involve a combination of education and advanced technologies.

• The Naughty: One-third of consumers report plans to cut their holiday spending this year.
• The Nice: 3 in 4 budget-conscious consumers reached for credit products, including split-pay schemes such as BNPL, to pay for holiday shopping this year.
• The Naughty: Split-payment methods, such as BNPL, present challenges that merchants and consumers must consider.

• Inflation impacts how much and often consumers tip, forcing them to change their spending behavior.
• The rise in tipping costs is further reducing consumers’ purchasing power..
• Consumers whose wages have not kept up with inflation are getting hit the hardest by higher tips.

• The average holiday shopper spent roughly $533 on Black Friday, with those using Pay Later options spending 48% more on their holiday shopping than those using other methods.
• Black Friday engagement is declining among Gen Z holiday shoppers, likely driven by perceptions of the day’s diminishing significance and worsening deals.
• Millennials plan to make nearly half of their holiday purchases at local merchants because of the merchants’ better prices and product quality.

• Amazon’s 8.2% share in consumer retail spend is 1 percentage point more than Walmart’s, the largest gap since last year.
• Despite Amazon’s overall eCommerce dominance, Walmart’s online sales grew 24% in the last year, albeit led by pickup and delivery options.
• Amazon has extended its leadership in key discretionary categories such as home furnishings, electronics and clothing.
• At the same time, Amazon has finally caught up to Walmart in the health and personal care category.

• Consumers’ familiarity with AI is present in all generational groups, with younger consumers being more familiar with it than older ones.
• Banking and shopping habits are underpinned by the goals and levels of comfort consumers have with AI.
• Younger generational groups show strong hesitancy about credit, but AI could aide in breaking this mold.

• Inflation has led to “tipflation,” in which sectors and industries overcompensate with their price adjustments and escalate where consumers tip and by how much.
• Point-of-sale technology is redefining tipping norms, contributing to merchant pressure toward consumers to tip greater amounts and for more services or goods than before.
• Consumers notice these changes — 27% noted that the merchant asked them to leave a tip in a new situation, and 33% noticed tip suggestions had gotten higher. Though they pay now, this is likely to change in the short- to medium term as the vicious cycle of inflation continues to affect the economy.

• As payments become both lightning fast and rock solidly secure, what the latest innovations hold for domestic and cross-border transactions.
• Why personalization represents the future of payments and FinTech writ and the transformative impact it is having on optimizing B2B.
• Despite the ongoing generational shift reshaping payment modalities and contexts, the innovations that scale will be those that take as much cost out of the equation as possible.

• Approximately 53% of SMBs lack readily available financing sources, and insufficient access to credit represents a key challenge leaving them vulnerable.
• Even though corporate cards are the most common kind of business financing, only 28% of smaller SMBs have access to them.
• Twenty-five percent of SMBs hope to increase their use of corporate cards in the near future, but many challenges stand in their way.

• The 138 million U.S. consumers who travel each year eat at restaurants 20% more frequently than they do during their daily routines.
• 70% of traveling consumers said food quality is the top reason for selecting a restaurant when traveling and 36% report this as important.
• 49% of consumers use apps or websites to find restaurants while traveling, a slightly paradoxical figure as 53% use one when deciding where to dine at home.

• Between Sept. 1 and Sept. 13, 11 million Americans used mobile wallets to pay for their most recent online and in-store purchases.
• Two out of 3 consumers decide to make an online purchase at a specific merchant rather than elsewhere because that merchant accepts their chosen mobile wallet.
• Apple Pay has experienced a considerable increase in its adoption over the past few years, with total estimated sales more than doubling from $92B in 2021 to $213B thus far this year.

• ISO 20022 focuses heavily on real-time payments and will accelerate their adoption.
• Innovative FinTechs leads more conservative credit unions in offering customers real-time payments products.
• Large consumer-facing businesses broadly underestimate the importance of real-time payments in the bill-payment experience.

• More consumers are experiencing payment fraud, making them hesitant to share or store updated data.
• Fraud’s increased sophistication is costing firms customers, and firms are responding with investments in greater fraud detection and management.
• Financial institutions are tapping AI for fraud prevention and are getting results.
• Financial institutions are using a variety of strategies to combat fraud, both in-house solutions and those developed by third parties.

• Incomes have increased in the past year to match inflation for 15% of consumers, and the remaining 85% tend to be more pessimistic about the U.S. economy.
• Although 28% of consumers with concerns about the economy said employment was a reason for their worry, 91% of those whose wages have not kept up noted high prices as a source of concern.
• Consumer-reported price increases generally align with cumulative inflation, meaning that when they are considering price hikes, they are likely comparing to benchmarks that are several years old rather than recent ones — and feeling an exaggerated impact.

• Consumers expect to rely more heavily on installment plans during holiday shopping than the rest of the year.
• Younger shoppers in the millennial and Gen Z age groups, in particular, will ramp up their use of installment plans.
• Consumers who plan to increase their installment plan purchasing during holiday shopping are especially likely to switch merchants to get access to plans.

• Small businesses face an elevated risk of closure and are particularly vulnerable during economic disruption.
• SMBs struggle to access credit, especially traditional funding from banks.
• Corporate credit cards are the type of credit that SMBs use most often, but many SMBs rely on the owners’ personal credit sources and assets.

• Most consumers like the idea of smart, reliable voice assistants, but fewer than 1 in 10 say voice assistants are that capable today.
• Consumers’ trust in voice technology is device-based today, but that will likely change as future voice operating systems will connect multiple devices and apps to facilitate complex voice-activated activities.
• While an integrated voice platform is not yet a reality, voice pioneers will lead the way because they show there is demand for voice across devices and applications.

• Data shows that 53% of consumers expect the U.S. to enter a new recession, and consumers’ concerns regarding this potential recession may be heightening their worries about job security and the impact of AI on their careers.
• PYMNTS found that 56% of consumers who feel optimistic about the impact of AI on their work-life believe AI will save them time. Forty-six percent of consumers that feel at least a little optimistic about the impact of AI on their work-life believe AI will reduce errors, while 35% believe that AI will help them communicate with others more easily.
• However, seven in 10 consumers believe AI can already replace at least some of their professional skill sets. Young consumers, those making over $100K, and those working in an office environment are most aware of this skill overlap.

• Amazon’s 7.6% share in consumer retail spend represents a slight lead over Walmart for the third consecutive quarter.
• Despite Amazon’s overall eCommerce dominance, Walmart’s online sales grew 15% over the last year.
• Walmart retained its robust grocery market share with 19.3% of total U.S. segment sales.

• The connected consumer is a multitasking consumer, with younger consumers, in particular, embracing multitasking.
• Multitasking means consumers control where they accomplish what they need to accomplish.
• Consumers show interest in connected buying experiences, especially those that help them multitask.

• While worries about a recession are cooling, consumers remain cautious since their purchasing power is 11% lower than two years ago.
• In response to their eroding purchasing power, consumers are finding more work: 41% of employed consumers have picked up extra work.
• Sixty-two percent of employed consumers cite inadequate pay and benefits and the lack of opportunities as reasons to consider leaving their current role.