Before the Apple Watch arrives, new research looks at the success of Apple Pay
Interesting new research from Phoenix Marketing International examines how well Apple Pay has caught on with iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users.
Conducted in late February, the firm’s survey of 3,000 people said that more than half of iPhone 6 users (57 percent) have made at least one Apple Pay purchase.
Two-thirds of users have setup Apple Pay on their phone by linking an applicable credit or debit card. The firm says that accounts for 11 percent of all households owning a credit card in the United States.
While those are some impressive numbers, there have been some bumps in the road for consumers.
Sixty-eight percent of Apple Pay users encountered some type of problem when making a purchase at a retail store. The most common problem – that the merchant terminal took to long to record the transaction – was encountered by 48 percent of users.
Forty-two percent of consumers said that the store cashier was unfamiliar with Apple Pay and unable to help. A smaller number of users suffered from transactions that posted incorrectly or counted twice. In 27 percent of the cases, the Apple Pay terminal itself didn’t work.
I’m not particularly surprised by the survey findings. Apple is in the mobile payment game for the long haul, and it will take more time for both consumers and businesses to get a hang of the system. I’ve used Apple Pay on my iPhone 6 Plus at a number of retailers, and from time to time have encountered similar issues – though nothing as bad as my colleague Bryan M. Wolfe experienced in late 2014.
Also, 47 percent of users went to a merchant that was supposed to accept Apple Pay only to find that the specific location couldn’t accept payments using the system.
The Apple Watch, arriving in late April, should also help to increase acceptance of the system by consumers. Using an iPhone to make a purchase is easy, but using the wearable device to pay really sounds exciting.
I’ll be interested to see these Apple Pay adoption numbers later this year after even more compatible devices have hit the market.
Currently, Apple Pay is accepted at more than 700,000 location in the United States. If you’re interested, take a look at our updated list of the merchants, cards, and apps that accept Apple Pay.
For other news today, see: OpenbayConnect sends diagnostic information and repair quotes to your iPhone, With Tidal, Jay Z thinks that you’ll pay $20 per month to rent higher quality music, and The 9 best App Store apps and games in March include AG Drive, Carrot Weather and more.
