54% of Indian households still do not use digital payment
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54% of Indian households still do not use digital payment
Fri, 30 October 2026
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13:30Nearly 46 per cent of Indian households now use online shopping or digital payment channels to buy at least one consumption item, pointing to the growing role of digital transactions in household spending, according to a research report by the State Bank of India (SBI).
However, the report found that a majority of households, or 54.4 per cent, continue to rely on non-digital modes of payment for their purchases.
The extent of digital adoption differs across spending categories. Consumables and services account for the largest share of online purchases at 39.68 per cent, followed by durable goods at 23.3 per cent. Food purchases, by comparison, make up just 7.10 per cent of digital transactions.
“Food expenditure accounts for 32.82% of total household consumption expenditure reflecting the continued importance of the basic consumption needs,” the SBI report said.
Even within the food category, digital payments are more common for routine grocery shopping than for fresh produce. Grocery purchases account for 4.29 per cent of digital transactions, while the figures stand at 2.6 per cent for served processed food and 1.65 per cent for packed processed food.
Fresh and perishable food items continue to be bought largely through offline markets. Digital adoption is particularly low for vegetables at 1.32 per cent, fresh fruits at 1 per cent and eggs, fish and meat at 0.59 per cent.
Among consumables and services, general services make up the biggest share of digital spending at 37.93 per cent. Fuel and light account for another 15.96 per cent. Online payments, however, have yet to gain much ground in education and medical services, where their respective shares stand at 1.83 per cent and 1.69 per cent.
Clothing leads digital purchases in the durable goods category, accounting for 19.97 per cent, followed by footwear at 12.05 per cent. High-value items remain largely outside the digital shopping trend. Furniture and fixtures account for just 0.18 per cent of digital purchases, while medical equipment makes up 0.32 per cent.
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