PYMNTS today launched the ConnectedEconomy (CE) Index, supported by Stripe, a metric that benchmarks the progress of the world’s digital transformation. The CE Index is the first-of-its-kind global research endeavor that uses in-depth consumer surveys to examine their digital engagement in 40 activities across 10 pillars that represent the Connected Economy.

The CE Index methodology is based on a framework that PYMNTS created in January 2020 called the ConnectedEconomy that organizes a consumer’s daily routine into 10 categories — called “pillars” — and the 40 activities they perform to complete them. How people all over the world use connected devices, payments, and new technologies to work, live, bank, pay and be paid, have a fun, shop, eat, stay healthy, connect with others and move from point A to point B will determine the depth, breadth, and speed of the world’s digital transformation.

The CE Index rankings reflect a study conducted by PYMNTS of more than 15,000 consumers across 11 countries between January 13 and February 16, 2022, to learn how and how often consumers engage in each of the 40 activities, and the purchases they made, and the payment methods they used. The countries surveyed—United States, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Australia, Japan, and Singapore—together account for roughly half of global GDP.

The CE Index measures how much progress each country has made in its digital transformation journey. A 100 is a perfect score — meaning that every person in a country uses digital methods to engage in each of the 40 activities we measure with great frequency.

Key findings of the first study for Q1 2022, including

• 87% of consumers studied are connected to the internet, yet only 19% are highly engaged in digital activities
• Digital engagement worldwide has reached 27% of its full potential
• The US ranks in fourth place with a CE Index ranking of 30, Singapore ranks highest with a CE Index score of 35
• The digital transformation has to engage people of all ages to reach its full potential.
• Digital transformation’s “flywheel” spins more rapidly when consumers engage in one digital activity and expand to ones with similar digital characteristics
• Consumers are nearly 1.5 times more likely to be engaged in activities purpose-built for digital than those that are purely transactional, like banking or making retail purchases.
• Cards power the digital transformation today, but consumers worldwide are warming to alternatives.

“Finally, an objective benchmark for how and at what pace the digital transformation of countries and their economies are progressing,”
“What we find is that, in many ways, we’re just getting started – which means there’s enormous upside for innovators to create the experiences that will blend the digital and physical worlds in new and powerful ways — accessible to anyone, anywhere, anytime in the world.”

                                                                    Karen Webster, CEO of PYMNTS.