LONDON—A new reports reveals another roadblock in the way of digital wallets, which continue to show much-slower-than-expected adoption from consumers.
According to a new study from Juniper Research, only 14% of U.S. consumers use mobile wallets for in-store purchases.
“Many of mobile payment’s benefits, like increased transaction speed, are not exclusive to smartphones” and most users are “more interested in services like contactless cards than mobile-based payments,” stated Juniper’s James Moar.
Retailers have been adapting to mobile wallets since America’s transition to chip payment cards, but they are now adapting to contactless cards as well. For instance, Target recently announced they will accept Apple Pay transactions in their stores, as well as Mastercard contactless cards. Chase is now transitioning their credit and debit cards to contactless cards, which should be completed by the end of 2019.
Fuel for Online Shopping
“Nearly three quarters of the world’s Internet users are projected to have mobile-only internet access by 2025,” said LowCard.com’s Lynn Oldshue. “That may fuel growth in mobile wallets, but Juniper’s findings suggest it will mostly fuel online shopping. In both the U.S. and UK, 40% of respondents said they shop less in stores because of an increase in online purchases. Moreover, 30% of U.S. respondents said they shopped more in general due to the convenience mobile commerce.”