Study: Apple Pay has more Gen X users than Millennials, but adoption slowing
A study from Phoenix Marketing International says Apple Pay is still picking up users one year after launch, and recently saw a bump in usage rates from Gen X card holders, but overall growth is quickly reaching a plateau.
Speaking at the Money 20/20 convention in Las Vegas this week, Greg Weed, Phoenix Marketing's director of Card Performance Research, said Apple Pay is now being used by 14 percent of households with eligible credit cards. That statistic is impressive for a year-old fledgling payments service, but Weed's analysis shows a steep decline in adoption going into year two.
According to statistics shared with AppleInsider, Apple Pay reached 11 percent of credit card households four months after its release, meaning adoption grew three points since February. Phoenix Marketing sampled the numbers from a pool of 15,000 consumers polled over the past year.
While Apple Pay enjoyed little growth over the past few months, the service did see an uptick in usage rates from Gen Xers, a demographic defined as consumers aged 33 to 48. Initially, only 15 percent of Gen Xers signed up for Apple Pay actively used the service, Weed found, but that number that has since increased to 23 percent as of September.
Overall, Gen Xers accounted for 48 percent of all Apple Pay users heading into quarter four, with Millennials aged 18 to 32 making up a bulk of the remainder at 42 percent. Millennials also exhibited the highest usage rates with some 26 percent of users turning to Apple's service for their payment needs.
Weed says credit cards dominate Apple Pay and account for 86 percent of all cards linked to the service. Debit cards come in second with a 49 percent share, while prepaid cards account for another 22 percent.
In September, 79 percent of Apple Pay users said they completely replaced contactless plastic credit and debit cards with iPhone and Apple Watch, up from 51 percent in July and 53 percent in February.
Apple continues to ink deals with card issuing institutions in a bid to widen its accessible customer base, most recently adding 75 U.S. banks to its roster of partners. The service is currently limited to U.S. and UK customers, though availability is expected to debut in Canada and other locales soon.
Speaking at the Money 20/20 convention in Las Vegas this week, Greg Weed, Phoenix Marketing's director of Card Performance Research, said Apple Pay is now being used by 14 percent of households with eligible credit cards. That statistic is impressive for a year-old fledgling payments service, but Weed's analysis shows a steep decline in adoption going into year two.
According to statistics shared with AppleInsider, Apple Pay reached 11 percent of credit card households four months after its release, meaning adoption grew three points since February. Phoenix Marketing sampled the numbers from a pool of 15,000 consumers polled over the past year.
While Apple Pay enjoyed little growth over the past few months, the service did see an uptick in usage rates from Gen Xers, a demographic defined as consumers aged 33 to 48. Initially, only 15 percent of Gen Xers signed up for Apple Pay actively used the service, Weed found, but that number that has since increased to 23 percent as of September.
Overall, Gen Xers accounted for 48 percent of all Apple Pay users heading into quarter four, with Millennials aged 18 to 32 making up a bulk of the remainder at 42 percent. Millennials also exhibited the highest usage rates with some 26 percent of users turning to Apple's service for their payment needs.
Weed says credit cards dominate Apple Pay and account for 86 percent of all cards linked to the service. Debit cards come in second with a 49 percent share, while prepaid cards account for another 22 percent.
In September, 79 percent of Apple Pay users said they completely replaced contactless plastic credit and debit cards with iPhone and Apple Watch, up from 51 percent in July and 53 percent in February.
Apple continues to ink deals with card issuing institutions in a bid to widen its accessible customer base, most recently adding 75 U.S. banks to its roster of partners. The service is currently limited to U.S. and UK customers, though availability is expected to debut in Canada and other locales soon.
Comments
No need for retailers to "support" Apple Pay... they just need modern payment terminals period, and NFC will work.
One good thing if it's taking this long for something this secure and this easy to use then these others don't stand a chance.
It works both ways: number of available store would be higher if more potential buyers would be available...
Apple need to expand into the European market, Canada and Japan.
Something wrong with the maths here!!
Barclays Bank in the UK is stubbornly holding out until next year to support Apple Pay, hoping it's own completely insecure ( think RFID sticker on the back of your phone!!) bPay system will gain some traction - which it won't. Their arrogance is unsurprising and it's hurting customer convenience of course, not that they care - but I am sure there will be a fairly large uptick in UK usage once Barclays allow their credit and debit cards to be used. I almost considered getting a new CC just to use Apple Pay, but cannot be arsed as we have contactless payments almost everywhere here now with our cards anyway. I see the ApplePay logos in a lot of coffee shops and some major chain stores here.
I know this is anecdotal, but I've found even when stores have new NFC/chip and pin terminals, they aren't used to people using them. I can't count the number of times I've been told "I didn't know you could do that" when I pay with ApplePay, either on my watch or my iPhone. That's been every where from Home Depot to visitor centers in national park areas to soft drinks vending machines.
What percentage of Gen X purchases consist of stuff they bought for millennials that can't get a job or a place of their own?
86% + 49% + 22% > 100%
I gotta carry my CCs with me anyways for the gas-pump, restaurants, coffee shops, and grocery stores. So what's the point?
Initially, I began using it wherever possible, but now I don't even bother, I just reach for my wallet.
It works both ways: number of available store would be higher if more potential buyers would be available...
Apple need to expand into the European market, Canada and Japan.
Europe doesn't need it. We have had NFC contactless payments for years. For small transactions you just wave a card near the antennae to make and authorise a payment. For larger amounts you have to type in a pin. Neither of these is exactly slow or an inconvenience.
I thought retailers would be forced to support NFC once they went chip and pin. The experience really sucks. You forget that your card is chip and pin so you swipe but the reader doesn't accept it. Then you have to stick your card in the other way and wait for it to be read. When I use my watch or my phone it takes literally two seconds.
86% + 49% + 22% > 100%
LMFAO
Originally Posted by williamh
86% + 49% + 22% > 100%
Sounds like his surname is bang on.