Mobile payments not just grew last year, but exceeded all expectations with an adoption rate that tripled. Earlier this year, we were questioning whether Apple Pay, one of the pioneers in mobile payments, was a failure. But according to a recent report from Deloitte, the number of people using a smartphone to make an in-store purchase jumped from just 5 to a hefty 18 percent in the last year. This exponential spike in growth is only expected to climb into the coming year.
Not surprising that the majority of people making in-store purchases using mobile payments were under 35 years old. This is clearly a generation that is comfortable using technology and more so mobile. For those who have not used mobile payments, they were more likely to consider using them at the following locations:
- Coffee shops
- Public parking
- Grocery stores
- Fast food restaurants
- Public transportation
And while a large number of people polled said they would trust a mobile payment solution from a financial institution, like Chase Pay, over one developed by a technology company, like Samsung Pay, that hasn’t stopped the roll out of new options.
Walmart Pay allows a customer to scan QR codes within its already existing app to make purchases in-store. This new payment system is separate from CurrentC, who Walmart is already affiliated with. According to early adopters, Walmart Pay is not elegant and can sometimes be clunky to use. Nonetheless, having direct access to customer data should help Walmart to customize the overall in-store shopping process.
Another possible contender in the mobile payments race is Kroger. While the county’s largest supermarket chain and top retailer has made significant strides in in-store technology adoption, they have not, as of yet, rolled out a mobile payment option. Currently, at a limited number of stores, Kroger is offering customers the ability to scan and bag items as they shop using their smartphone’s camera. A customer ends their trip by scanning a bar code near the exit without ever having to step in a line.
Clearly customers are becoming more comfortable making mobile payments with their smartphone in-store. In order for this to continue, retailers and other establishments that accept payments need to be prepared to embrace this demand.
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