Study finds that awareness of contactless payments has doubled in the last 12 months
A new study has found that awareness of contactless mobile payment points and symbols amongst consumers has more than doubled from 15% to 39% in just twelve months.
The latest Mobile Payment Index results from eDigitalResearch show that, whether a user of contactless payments or not, awareness surrounding the technology is on the rise as more brands and businesses begin to invest in the technology.
The use of contactless mobile payments by people who have the technology enabled on their mobile device is also on the increase. The study found that 53% of those surveyed said they had now used their mobile to make a contactless payment purchase, compared to 47% this time last year.
Spending via mobile Near Field Communication technology has also grown in the last year. In May 2012, results indicated that contactless mobile payment users were, on average, spending £6.76 per transaction. However, this figure has now increased to £26.84 as confidence in the technology grows.
Derek Eccleston, commercial director at eDigitalResearch, explained: “When we first launched our Mobile Payment Index one year ago, we saw that awareness, adoption and spending rates were relatively low amongst consumers. As a result, eDigitalResearch concluded that retailers and providers needed to come together to increase consumer knowledge surrounding the technology. These latest results show that they have gone some way in achieving this, but now need to turn their attention to tackling issues of security and trust, especially as these are still some of the biggest perceived limitations of the technology, if they are to make the most of this upsurge in consumer awareness.
“2012 wasn’t quite the year of the contactless mobile payment revolution that many predicted. But with big brands with large market shares, such as Samsung, Starbucks and KFC all investing in the technology, it is likely the that time will soon come that in certain situations and environments, such as cafes and fast food outlets, consumers will expect retailers to offer them the ability to make a swift contactless payment via their smartphone.”
Tracking the uptake of the contactless mobile payment market, the Mobile Payment Index also found that 82% of previous contactless mobile payment users said that they would use the technology again in the next six months. In addition, of those people who had not used their mobile to make a contactless payment, 52% said that they intend to do so within the near future.
Do not miss the Retail Bulletin’s Retail Payments Summit, 19th June 2013. The event, in London, will explore how to keep pace with the changing face of retail payments including customer convenience across cash, cards, mobile, contactless and NFC. Speakers so far include Marks and Spencer, Carphone Warehouse, CoffeeMob, River Island, Visa Europe, Chase Paymentech and Google. Click here for the programme and low-cost registration.
