Crypto awareness and adoption in the UK is on the rise, survey reveals

The survey was conducted on October 28-29, 2020 to evaluate how the pandemic is changing online shopping behaviours, what makes consumers prefer one payment method over another, and how consumers value different loyalty rewards, such as cash back or cryptocurrencies.

Key findings from Plutus’ 2020 UK Consumer Payment Trends Survey include:

• Online shopping has increased exponentially in 2020, due to COVID. More participants aged 18-29 shop online several times a day than any other age group; those over 60+ took the lead in maintaining the same frequency of online purchases when compared to 2019.
• Debit cards and PayPal are the preferred payment methods for online shoppers in the UK. Debit cards are more popular among shoppers aged 18-29 and 45-60, while PayPal is more popular among shoppers aged 30-44 years old or 60 and older. Among those who shop frequently, debit cards are the #1 payment method.
• Cash back rewards remain king among UK shoppers. When deciding which payment method to use, consumers consider cash back as a key factor in using one payment method over another.
• Crypto literacy in the UK is higher than expected. 85.63% of survey participants have heard of Bitcoin or Ethereum. The ownership of cryptocurrency is dominated by participants aged 18-29, leading the next age group, 30-44 by more than +4%. Compared to the US, the UK market may be taking more than a 6% lead in crypto ownership, +2% lead when benchmarked against global ownership.
• When it comes to crypto, respondents in the UK would rather earn than buy. Many participants prefer earning cryptocurrencies like BTC and ETH as loyalty rewards points rather than buying it, mining it or earning it as part of their salary.