Customer purchase behaviour is changing, and those shifts are showing up in the checkout flow, according to a new report from Stripe.

Stripe analysed checkout and payment activity from nearly 20,000 B2C businesses on the Stripe network from August 2023 through February 2026, and combined those insights with Stripe-commissioned surveys to understand the latest trends in consumer preferences.

It found the checkout is changing from a simple payment step into the point where identity, intent, and authorisation are verified.

Shoppers are increasingly making big-ticket purchases on mobile

Mobile already dominates smaller purchases, but the old habit of moving to desktop for bigger purchases is starting to fade. Stripe data shows shoppers are increasingly completing higher-value purchases on mobile, including purchases over $500.

As digital wallets spread globally, wallet preference is generational and regional

Digital wallets now account for about 30% of global point-of-sale volume. In Stripe’s global survey, 61% of shoppers said they would use a digital wallet.

By generation, 50% of shoppers ages 18–29 said they use wallets for purchases under $25, and $33% said they use them for purchases over $250.

But while wallets are becoming the default checkout layer across markets, the leading wallet still varies by region. In some regions, adding Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Link might cover most checkout volume. In others, a different wallet mix might do more to improve conversion.

AI-assisted shopping and agents are starting to change the path to checkout

In a survey conducted by Stripe and Visa of more than 3,500 consumers, a majority across markets said they’re open to AI agents helping them make purchasing decisions.

On the back end, AI is also changing how payment performance is managed. As automated attacks such as card testing become easier to scale, businesses often respond by tightening risk controls, which can inadvertently reject legitimate customers in the process.

New payment models help balance that trade-off by evaluating more signals in real time, requesting authentication more selectively, and improving how payments are routed and retried.

Product discovery and purchasing are increasingly happening inside AI interfaces. As a result, checkout now needs to recognise who is buying, confirm that the shopper or agent is authorised to complete the purchase, and make it easy to finish the transaction quickly.

Download the full report to see the data behind these shifts and what businesses are doing to adapt.