Survey Reveals Mobile Payment Users Spend Twice as Much as Other Buyers
March 25, 14
While this is good news for retailers, "The Consumer View of Mobile Payments" study also shows that a retail “revolution” is being held back because consumers do not yet find mobile payments secure, private or convenient enough to merit rapid adoption. While more than half of consumers on average, and over 70 percent in Western Europe, are aware of mobile payment options, only a quarter of the 25,000 people surveyed said they were willing to use their mobile device for in-store payments. But, the survey discovered that spending by mobile payment users is significant, with users spending roughly twice as much through all digital channels than mobile payment non-users – by more than two-to-one in the US and UK and between 30 to 60 percent more in France, Germany and Spain. While many consumers are anxious about potential data security and privacy breaches, with 40 percent of those currently unwilling to adopt saying that they don't see the need for changing their payment behavior, the study suggests that if these consumer concerns can be addressed, mobile payments are poised for rapid adoption over the next three years. "The case for mobile payments has been a long time in the making, but still remains unconvincing for many consumers," said Stephen Bertrand, partner with Bain & Company in London, head of the firm's Technology Practice in EMEA and lead author of the report. "But our study of 25,000 consumers shows that the size of the prize is substantial for those banks, retailers and other digital wallet providers able to create customized value propositions for the growing number of people signaling their willingness to shop on their mobile devices." The survey concludes that retailers, among others, have to persuade more consumers to switch over from debit and credit cards by convincing them of the value presented by adopting mobile payments, such as faster checkouts, discounts and/or promotions, access to real-time balances and location-based marketing offers. "Consumers are voicing their willingness to change payment behaviors. It's now up to mobile payment providers to deliver solutions that unlock the long-awaited potential of mobile payments," concluded Bertrand
