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30% of holiday shoppers plan to pay with mobile wallet

More than 40 percent of holiday shoppers intend to use mobile payments at coffee shops and fast food restaurants.

November 20, 2014

One out of every three consumers plan to use mobile payment offerings such as Apple Pay or Google Wallet for shopping in stores this holiday shopping season, according to results from Stratos Inc.'s 2014 Holiday Mobile Payments Survey.

In fact, 17 percent of the smartphone users said they would spend more because of these new payment options.

Smartphone users plan to use mobile wallets at the following locations:

• 66 percent at department stores
• 48 percent at discount retailers/super stores
• 43 percent at coffee shops
• 42 percent at fast food restaurants
• 41 percent at toy stores
• 35 percent at drug stores
• 28 percent at hotels
• 28 percent at upscale restaurants
• 26 percent at bars
• 23 percent at boutiques

Stratos also found less than 5 percent were "more comfortable" paying with their devices than using traditional payment cards such as credit or debit cards. A majority (69 percent) of smartphone users were uncertain which stores would actually accept this type of payment.

When asked what appeals most about mobile payments for in-store shopping, the number one reason was "I don’t have to worry about getting my credit or debit cards stolen" at 37 percent. The second most important reason was "I can track my spending more easily electronically" at 32 percent, followed by 31 percent of smartphone users saying, "Phone pay is not appealing – I would rather pay by payment card."

"It is clear that people are interested in mobile payments but it doesn’t mean they’re going to abandon their cards," said Stratos CEO Thiago Olson in a company press release. "Our research shows that while American smartphone users would like to use their smartphones to pay for gifts at department stores, they are less likely to want to use the same system to pay at a hotel, upscale restaurant, or a bar. Our findings show that Americans are more comfortable paying with their cards. We are excited to deliver connected cards to further improve the consumer in-store mobile payment experience - increasing spending using a familiar, universal accepted, dynamic card."