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Apple pay currently dominating mobile payments market, could affect retail industry in the long run

Apple Pay might just wind up on top.

A few years ago, when the technology was first introduced, it seemed like a vague idea. Today, according to new survey data released by Boston Retail Partners, Apple Pay is not only booming, it’s the mobile payments standard, surpassing PayPal, which had nearly a decade headstart. This, despite a much smaller market share than Android, and this despite continued ignorance as to the very existence of Apple Pay among consumers.

It may also be good for retailers in the long run.


In spite of a slow start, as of October 2016, Apple Pay transaction activity went up 500 percent over its combined 2015 numbers. While some data suggests Apple Pay interest has slackened since its 2014 launch, this data almost certainly reflects an early surge of interest at the launch of Apple Pay, followed by a maturing, growing base of committed, active users.

As the Boston Retail Partners’ survey indicates, roughly the same percentage of retailers now accept Apple Pay (36 percent) as accept the consumer-unfriendly EMV (“chip and dip”) cards (37 percent). More importantly, for Apple, that 36 percent exceeds the percentage of retailers that accept rival mobile payment systems like Android Pay (24 percent) or even PayPal, which launched in 2006—eight years before Apple Pay:

Apple Pay is expected to hit nearly 50 percent of market penetration by retailers by the end of 2017.

From the retailers’ side of thing, Andreessen Horowitz partner Benedict Evans has posited that Apple Pay is “much more about driving repeat iPhone purchases” than about changing the payments industry. This, in turn, could make retail much more flexible.

According to Boston Retail Partners’ survey data, retailers are already planning to rethink how they do business, both in terms of how they identify with customers and how they enable the shopping experience, with Apple Pay supporting this shift:

75% plan to use Wi-Fi to identify customers with their mobile devices in the store by the end of 2019

80% will suggestive sell based on previous purchases within three years

89% will offer mobile solutions for associates within three years

84% will use mobile POS within three years

Apple Pay’s future isn’t set in stone, but it definitely looks like it’s on the right track.

Please let us know what you think in the comments.

Via TechRepublic