The use of mobile payments is continuing to grow and broaden, as nearly half (46%) of iPhone 6 owners have successfully used Apple Pay, up from 42% just two months ago.
The latest wave of Auriemma Consulting Group's bi-monthly Apple Pay Tracker, which interviews a fresh sample of 500 iPhone 6 owners every 8 weeks, also finds high levels of repeat usage, with 63% reporting that they use Apple Pay at least weekly.
"The Apple Pay base is broadening from the tech-savvy early adopters," says Marianne Berry, Managing Director of ACG's Payment Insights practice. In Wave 1 (conducted between January 26 - February 6, 2015), 70% of Apple Pay users identified themselves as people who "like to be the first to have the newest model phone." In Wave 2, conducted April 10-20, that figure had dropped to 55%, indicating that less tech-oriented types are now trialling mobile payments via Apple Pay.
Consistent with the finding that the newer users might be less technologically adept, a significant number are reporting problems in set-up. The April survey found that 45% of respondents reported having issues setting up Apple Pay. "Among those who reported issues setting up Apple Pay, 62% acquired their iPhone in 2015, compared to 38% who got their iPhone in 2014," Berry noted.
Despite these issues, user satisfaction is very high, and their main complaint is the lack of retail venues accepting Apple Pay. 67% of those that have used Apple Pay in a brick and mortar store say they are migrating to merchants that accept Apple Pay. And 51% say that they are using other payment methods, such as cash, less often since they began using Apple Pay.
"Mobile payments still comprise only a small fraction of overall payments volume," said Berry "but Apple Pay is the first service to garner double-digit numbers of users. As the upgrade cycle gives more consumers access to Apple Pay, and Android Pay comes to market, the long-awaited transformation of the payments industry may finally have begun. It will be interesting to see how US adoption patterns compare to those in the UK and in Canada---markets with higher penetration of NFC and contactless cards---when Apple Pay is rolled out there."
ACG's Apple Pay Tracker conducts an online survey of 500 randomly selected iPhone 6/6+ owners every 8 weeks, accompanied by qualitative telephone interviews; the full study is available through an annual subscription. Data reported above comes from interviews conducted April 10 -20, 2015.