In-person use of digital wallets, like Apple Pay and Google Pay, has doubled at small businesses over the past two years, while PayPal use has soared from 11% to 27%, according to a new study by Bank of America Merchant Services and Forrester Consulting.

"Today's consumers are constantly looking for easier, faster and safer ways to shop — both in-store and online," Sydney Ivey, general manager for small business at Bank of America Merchant Services, said in a company release. 

"Our goal at Bank of America Merchant Services is to help our small business clients meet their customers' evolving needs by providing market leading payment, e-commerce and security solutions designed to help them improve efficiency and enhance the overall customer experience," Ivey said.

The study found that 44% of consumers under age 30 use their mobile device to shop more often than they did five years ago. 

The study also found that 30% of consumers said they would not shop at a small business that experienced a data breach. That compares with 20% of consumers from the 2017 survey.

Data breaches are becoming a bigger problem for small businesses, as 41% of them had to pay more than $50,000 to resolve a breach, according to the new survey, compared with 31% in the 2017 survey. 

Bank of America and Forrester surveyed 500 small business owners and 500 consumers as part of the bank's third annual Small Business Payments Spotlight. 

Cover image courtesy of Bank of America Merchant Services.