Author: BWild

The coffee giant is leading the way in this market as 10 percent of its American purchases use smartphones.

Despite the fact that Starbucks doesn’t have the most generous loyalty or reward programs around, it has most certainly been able to attract the largest number of people to its mobile payments program in the United States.

The minimalistic rewards program does not seem to be doing any damage to the willingness of its customers to pay with smartphones.

The company is continuing to draw new customers and a surprising number of them are using mobile payments to pay for their purchases, even in the United States, which is one of the markets in which the least growth and adoption have been seen. The café chain has continually broken the mold, not only by being successful with the transactions as a whole, but also by doing so using various different types of technique.

Mobile payments have seen considerable struggle with adoption in the United States.

Giants in the industry such as Isis and Google Wallet have essentially fallen flat, so far. Though Square is doing well, it requires mobile devices on the side of the seller, not the consumer. Starbucks, on the other hand, has experienced continual and rapid growth since it first introduced the transaction method.

Ten percent of all American transactions at Starbucks are currently completed using a smartphone. The company has been working very hard to be able to popularize mobile payments and it has managed to overcome the lack of trust that smartphone users have in the security of their devices by basing the system on rechargeable gift cards instead of relying the use of credit or debit cards through their devices.

That said, the actual reason behind the success of Starbucks mobile payments has yet to be identified. Though some have proposed the reward program associated with it, most would agree that it is not a very big incentive. Others feel that it is more convenient than paying through more traditional means. It has also been proposed that the demographic that buys coffee through that chain is also the same one that is more willing to give new technologies a try. Whatever it is, other American companies have yet to replicate it.

Mobile payments may soon see explosive growth

Mobile payments may be set to see explosive growth in Australia, at least among retailers. Mobile technology has established a strong presence in Australia, just as it has done throughout much of the world. Consumers have become heavily reliant on smartphones and tablets, favoring these devices when it comes to shopping and, in some cases, banking. This trend has been a double-edged sword for retailers, some of whom have expressed concern that the growing prevalence of mobile commerce is keeping consumers from visiting physical stores. The Australian Retailers Association sees mobile payments as a promising opportunity, however.

Retailers becoming more interested in mobile commerce

The organization notes that traditional retailers — those with physical stores — are beginning to look for ways to reduce transaction times and ensure consumer loyalty. The advent of mobile commerce has made shopping somewhat easier for consumers throughout the country, many of whom can find everything they need online and have products delivered to their homes. By embracing the convenient nature of mobile technology, retailers may be able to secure the loyalty of consumers through the provision of simple services and support of mobile payments.

Small retailers following the example of their larger counterparts

The Australian Retailers Association suggests that embracing mobile payments has become relatively common among larger retailers. This has created confidence among smaller companies that are beginning to consider mobile commerce as the industry standard. As such, growing numbers of small retailers are expected to adopt mobile payments in the coming years, leading to a dramatic increase in the mobile commerce activity of the country.

Companies seek to spread mobile commerce throughout Australia

Mobile payments have been seeing strong growth in Australia due to the numerous financial organizations that have been working to bring mobile commerce to the country. PayPal is one such group and has been testing a new mobile commerce platform in several countries. This platform is designed with retailers in mind, providing them with a way to offer comprehensive services to consumers that are tethered to smartphones and tablets.