Consumer Behavior
Study: Shoppers prefer mobile pay
November 12, 2020
A good majority, 74%, of Americans are using their phone to order and pay for merchandise and food at least once a week, with nearly half, 48%, tapping the phone to make purchases several times a week or more.
That's a prime finding of the Appetize Contactless Technology Survey which polled 2,081 consumers ranging in ages from 18-70 in the U.S. on the impact COVID-19 is having on purchase decisions as well as preferences pre-and post-pandemic in regards to contactless technology.
What's the top reason Americans use mobile ordering? Convenience which was cited by 44% of those polled as the most important factor for ordering and paying for food and merchandise. Second top reason was ease of use (18.6%) and avoiding going into stores (18.3%) was another factor, according to a press release on the findings.
More than half of Americans (54.8%) used their phone for online retail; 25% used it for food app/restaurant delivery and 9.3% used a phone for in-store purchase, such as "tap to pay" at checkout.
While mobile ordering is on the rise, 55% of consumers still prefer using credit cards, and 16.37% prefer payment using a mobile phone.
Holiday shopping trends
If contactless payments were offered through mobile ordering, self-service kiosks or tap-to-pay cards 49% of consumers would shop in-store. If contactless technology was available at their favorite store, restaurant and venue, 44% would use mobile ordering; 20.3% would use tap-to-pay cards and 18.5% would use self-service kiosks.
Overall, 58.5% of Americans are more likely to support a business if it offered contactless payment, with 36% stating they were neither more likely nor unlikely to support a business with contactless available.
During COVID-19, credit cards (55%) was the preferred method of payment versus mobile phone (16%), tap-to-pay cards (13%) and cash (12.5%). While 73% of Americans have paid for some merchandise, food, beverages or services with cash since COVID-19, 41% of Americans paid less frequently with cash during COVID-19.
Once the pandemic is over, 77% said they will prefer to pay for merchandise, food, beverages and services with contactless payments.
