An August 2018 survey by GfK found that 45 percent of U.S. internet users say their mobile device is quickly becoming their most important shopping tool, up from 29 percent in 2015. 36 percent of respondents agreed that mobile social networks were becoming as influential as other information sources when making best product choices versus 27 percent in 2015. However, only 28 percent said they would like to buy more products via mobile payments. Yet that represents an increase of 11 percentage points over 2015.

The most common smartphone activity while shopping is comparing prices (36 percent) while 30 percent gather product information and read product reviews. Fewer transact via mobile (26 percent) and far fewer pay in store with a mobile phone (17 percent).

Emarketer.com estimates that the number of U.S. proximity mobile payment users at 55.0 million this year, which is 20.2 percent of the population. They expect the number of users to increase to 74.9 million by 2022.