Nearly 20% of Shoppers Use Phones to Pay in Store

New research finds that 18% of shoppers surveyed have used their phones to pay in store. This is one of the key findings of Mobile Ecosystem Forum’s annual Mobile Money Report. The survey asked 6,000 consumers in nine countries about their attitudes towards mobile payments. The 18% figure reflects a big spike in ‘physical’ mobile transactions. Two years ago, just eight percent had completed an in-store payment with a handset.

Other key finds include:

• The research reveals 38% of Chinese consumers have made an in-store mobile payment – nearly double the global average. This is thanks to mobile wallets such as Tencent/WeChat and Alipay. Their users frequently make QR-code based payments with these products in physical stores.
• While in-store mobile payment gathers momentum, mobile shopping on apps and sites has gone fully mainstream. The study found 78% of people had made a purchase by mobile in the previous six months – that’s up four percent on the figure for 2014.
• Mobile banking has enjoyed a similar journey to the mass market. 61% of respondents say they now use their mobile phone to bank, with 44% using apps to check their balances (28% in 2014), and 29% paying bills from the handset (against 20% in 2014).
• Despite the general good health of mobile payment, banking and commerce, the old hurdles remain. Cart abandonment is still high, for example. The research reveals 58% of people have started to pay for something via mobile, only to abandon it before checkout. 31% said this was because they were asked for too much sensitive information, while 21% said the process was too long.