Tag: retail mobile commerce

In store mobile payments were few on Black Friday

Cayan data revealed that Americans didn’t turn to their smartphones to complete transactions very much.

Transaction processing firm Cayan showed that in store mobile payments in the United States were low on Black Friday. Fortune Magazine reported on the data and indicated that even though mobile wallet use is rising, it is still tiny. That payment method represents only a very small percentage of the overall total.

In fact, the mobile wallet use in store on Black Friday made up only 0.6 percent of sales.

The Cayan in store mobile payments data suggests a 100 percent year over year usage increase. However, it still shows that the percentage it represents of the total is only just a fragment above being entirely insignificant. The only reason that percentage meant anything at all was because the total sales on all payment methods on Black Friday was such a large figure.

In Store Mobile PaymentsDespite that fact, this makes it very clear that mobile payment adoption remains an exceptionally slow process. It is far from being mainstream as of yet.

Other data has shown that some in store mobile payment methods are more successful than other.

PYMNTS and InfoScout data showed that the use of the Apple Pay mobile wallet is actually declining in popularity. Their data revealed that over the last year, the growth rate for usage has slowed down.

Data from October 2016 showed that only 23 percent of consumers with an appropriate iPhone had actually tried the mobile wallet. That was essentially the same statistic that was recorded back in March 2016.

Moreover, mobile wallet use while in-store has not been doing much better. It has not been keeping up with the rate of growth of m-commerce as a whole. Still, even though there is a low conversion rate, PayPal recorded some strong figures over the holiday weekend that launched the shopping season. About 1 in 3 online purchases using PayPal were made over mobile.

Similarly, Adobe recorded that 45 percent of traffic to retail sites came from smartphones and 25 percent of e-commerce sales were from mobile devices. This suggests that customers are using their smartphones, they simply aren’t using in store mobile payments quite yet.

Most Millennials use in-store mobile commerce while shopping

Recent research shows that this generation uses their devices even when in real world shops.

According to the results of a new study, 84 percent of millennials are using in-store mobile commerce. This means that despite the fact that they’re shopping in a bricks and mortar store, they’re also using their smartphones. That statistic only underscores the importance of retail mobile features.

The “mobile generation” is heavily influenced by the use of their smartphones while in store.

That said, even though many millennials are shopping using in-store mobile commerce, retailers shouldn’t feel threatened. This, according to Alliance Data, the firm behind the study. Alliance Data says this is an opportunity for retailers to benefit. If merchants embrace the use of mobile shopping by customers while they are in-store, they may be able to better guide the experience. This could provide them with a significant advantage.

The majority of millennials use in-store mobile commerce to find cheaper or easier ways of buying.

In-store mobile commerce - Millenials and mobile shoppingKnowing this can mean that retailers may be able to use the mobile shopping experience to prove they’re the best option. The survey data showed that one in three (34 percent) of millennials use their mobile devices to check product information. More than one in five (22 percent) use their smartphones to talk to friends about a product or service they’re considering.

“Retailers need to embrace mobile as part of the path to purchase,” said Alliance Data senior analyst of strategic insights group, Tom Colven. When a shopper is using a smartphone for shopping purposes while in-store, it is likely that they are trying to determine whether the store’s price for a certain product is a good one and what their peers think of the purchase. “Any brick-and-mortar retailers that do not embrace mobile at this point and latch on to key moments…risk being left behind by competitors,” said Colven.

The role played by smartphones doesn’t stop with in-store mobile commerce. After a purchases is made, the influence expands. The research showed 16 percent share that they have made the purchase over social media. Shopping experience details and unboxing information is also commonly shared.