Merchants could keep more ready buyers at checkout by accepting the digital wallets those shoppers already use, with wallet gaps putting roughly 36 million U.S. consumers at risk of walking away.
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That finding comes from “The Hidden Cost of Checkout Gaps: What 56 Million Abandoned Carts Mean for U.S. Merchants and How Agentic AI is Changing What Comes Next,” a PYMNTS Intelligence report produced in collaboration with PayPal. Based on a June 2026 survey of 2,179 U.S. adults, the report finds that 21% abandoned an online cart in the previous 30 days because their preferred payment method wasn’t available. The population estimates reflect survey results applied to U.S. adults. For merchants, adding payment choices offers a practical opportunity to complete purchases shoppers had already decided to make. A checkout without the preferred wallet is like a store with the right merchandise but a locked door at the register.
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The report also finds that 43% of consumers would likely link a wallet to an artificial intelligence shopping agent within two years. Among recent online wallet users, that share rises to 52%. Consumers want approval rights, spending limits and restrictions on what agents can buy. Supporting familiar wallets today could help merchants prepare for purchases consumers authorize AI tools to make tomorrow.
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