As digital wallets, artificial intelligence, and mobile-first shopping reshape global commerce, entrepreneur and e-commerce strategist Jose Daniel Duarte Camacho is calling on online retailers to make payment experience a central component of their growth strategies.
Digital wallets accounted for 56% of global e-commerce spending in 2025, according to the Worldpay Global Payments Report 2026. The figure confirms a decisive change in consumer behavior: shoppers increasingly expect payments to be fast, familiar and seamlessly integrated into the purchasing journey.
At the same time, global business-to-consumer e-commerce revenue is projected to reach $5.5 trillion by 2027, representing a compound annual growth rate of 14.4%, according to the U.S. International Trade Administration. Duarte Camacho says this continued expansion creates significant opportunities—but also raises customer expectations and intensifies competition.
“E-commerce growth will increasingly be won or lost at the point where convenience, trust and payment choice come together,” said Jose Daniel Duarte Camacho. “A company may offer the right product at the right price, but if checkout feels slow, unfamiliar or insecure, the customer can leave within seconds. Payments are no longer a back-office function; they are a visible and measurable part of the brand experience.”
From Payment Processing to Customer Experience
Duarte Camacho, whose professional experience spans entrepreneurship, e-commerce, business agility and FinTech, says merchants should stop treating checkout as an isolated technical process.
Customers now expect online stores to recognize their preferred payment methods, work smoothly on mobile devices and clearly communicate delivery costs, return policies and transaction security. Meeting those expectations requires coordination among technology, marketing, finance, logistics and customer-service teams.
The shift is especially important for companies entering new markets. Payment preferences vary significantly by country, and a method commonly used in one market may have limited adoption in another. According to Duarte Camacho, merchants must localize the entire purchasing experience rather than simply translating their websites or displaying prices in another currency.
Four Priorities for E-Commerce Businesses
Duarte Camacho recommends that retailers focus on four areas:
- Localized payment options: Offer methods that reflect how customers actually pay in each target market.
- Mobile checkout performance: Reduce unnecessary fields, page loads, and steps that create friction on smartphones.
- Trust and transparency: Clearly disclose pricing, delivery times, return conditions and security practices before payment.
- Data-driven optimization: Measure authorization rates, checkout abandonment, transaction failures and conversion by payment method and device.
These priorities are becoming increasingly relevant as digital wallets evolve beyond storing card information. Wallets may now connect cards, bank accounts, stored balances and other payment services within a single interface. For merchants, this means payment strategy must account for both customer preference and the underlying reliability of each transaction.
AI Can Improve Commerce—but Trust Remains Essential
Artificial intelligence is also transforming product recommendations, demand forecasting, customer support, and fraud detection. Duarte Camacho cautions, however, that automation must be supported by reliable data and clear business objectives.
AI may help retailers personalize experiences and identify operational problems faster, but it cannot compensate for confusing checkout processes, unreliable delivery or weak customer service. Sustainable growth, he says, will depend on using technology to reinforce trust rather than adding complexity.
“The strongest e-commerce companies will not necessarily be those with the most technology,” Duarte Camacho added. “They will be the companies that use technology with discipline—removing friction, improving decisions and making every interaction more useful for the customer.”
As e-commerce approaches its next stage of global expansion, Duarte Camacho believes payment flexibility, operational agility and customer trust will become defining measures of digital competitiveness.
