Study claims 80% of Apple Watch owners in US, UK use Apple Pay
According to new data from research firm Wristly, which saw its statistics cited in Apple's latest earnings conference call, Apple Watch is proving to be a boon for Apple Pay users, as 80 percent of owners use the service to make purchases.
Wristly aggregated data from an "Inner Circle" of more than 1,000 Apple Watch owners in the U.S. and UK -- the only regions with official Apple Pay support -- and published its findings on Tuesday.
The 80 percent statistic is in stark contrast to -- highly questionable -- surveys claiming Apple Pay usage rates are in the low teens for iPhone 6 and 6 Plus owners, Wristly says. Of the roughly 20 percent of respondents that don't use Apple Pay on Watch, 5 percent said they "do not perceive a benefit" from Apple Pay, 5 percent have security concerns and 15 are using other methods of payment.
Unsurprisingly, most respondents who use Apple Pay first tried the service with an iPhone, though a fairly substantial 19 percent reported their first experience was on Apple Watch. The number is interesting considering Pay debuted six months prior to Watch's release.
One theory addressing the high adoption rate is that using Watch is more intuitive than pulling out an iPhone. More than half of respondents described paying with Watch a "magical" user experience, while 42 percent said the process is convenient. Only 4 percent found Pay on Watch "not that useful" and 3 percent had concerns about security.
Aside from high adoption rates, Watch owners who do use Apple Pay seem to be dedicated to Apple's touchless payments platform. The report says 78 percent of users who set up Apple Pay on their Watch use it at least once a week, a metric up 13 percent from June. Some 15 percent of users claim to use Watch and Apple Pay at least once per day.
That Apple Pay adoption is so high on Watch may not come as a surprise given device owners are likely deeply entrenched in Apple's hardware and software ecosystem. The dynamic might help give merchants not yet on board with Apple's payment initiative that extra push, as Wristly notes 62 percent of panelists shopped at a specific retailer based in part on its decision to support Apple Pay. Further, 86 percent of respondents are actively seeking out Apple Pay branding materials at point of sale terminals, suggesting high brand loyalty.
Wristly aggregated data from an "Inner Circle" of more than 1,000 Apple Watch owners in the U.S. and UK -- the only regions with official Apple Pay support -- and published its findings on Tuesday.
The 80 percent statistic is in stark contrast to -- highly questionable -- surveys claiming Apple Pay usage rates are in the low teens for iPhone 6 and 6 Plus owners, Wristly says. Of the roughly 20 percent of respondents that don't use Apple Pay on Watch, 5 percent said they "do not perceive a benefit" from Apple Pay, 5 percent have security concerns and 15 are using other methods of payment.
Unsurprisingly, most respondents who use Apple Pay first tried the service with an iPhone, though a fairly substantial 19 percent reported their first experience was on Apple Watch. The number is interesting considering Pay debuted six months prior to Watch's release.
One theory addressing the high adoption rate is that using Watch is more intuitive than pulling out an iPhone. More than half of respondents described paying with Watch a "magical" user experience, while 42 percent said the process is convenient. Only 4 percent found Pay on Watch "not that useful" and 3 percent had concerns about security.
Aside from high adoption rates, Watch owners who do use Apple Pay seem to be dedicated to Apple's touchless payments platform. The report says 78 percent of users who set up Apple Pay on their Watch use it at least once a week, a metric up 13 percent from June. Some 15 percent of users claim to use Watch and Apple Pay at least once per day.
That Apple Pay adoption is so high on Watch may not come as a surprise given device owners are likely deeply entrenched in Apple's hardware and software ecosystem. The dynamic might help give merchants not yet on board with Apple's payment initiative that extra push, as Wristly notes 62 percent of panelists shopped at a specific retailer based in part on its decision to support Apple Pay. Further, 86 percent of respondents are actively seeking out Apple Pay branding materials at point of sale terminals, suggesting high brand loyalty.
Comments
If the Starbucks Apple Watch app actually worked I'd be using it daily instead of using my iPhone.
Adoption rate will strongly correlate with watch sales.
None of my cards seem to work yet, so haven't had a chance to use it unfortunately.
Hello everyone, I am a lurker that have decided to join the discussion.
I would definitely believe these stats.
I started out using ApplePay on launch in the UK on the iPhone 6+ and it was a bit awkward and clunky due to the size of the phone and limited space around the NFC terminals. A lot of places cram all sorts of junk around the NFC terminal which means it can be hard sometimes to get a good read when using the big iPhone.
I later got the Apple Watch to have a better experience with Apple Pay and it.is.magical. I use ApplePay for public transport, obligatory hipster coffees and lunch every day. I shifted about 80% of my day to day spending patterns to ApplePay and would shift the rest if only Barclays would come on board.
Apple Watch is a good v1 but needs dramatic improvement on the software side. I can't wait for WatchOS2. An example being the notifications being really dumb and popping up when i am in the middle of dictating to siri or using the map navigations. There should be a tactile indicator that I need to review notifications and not to block my entire screen and expect me to tap it away..
My only slight frustration is that you can't see the screen of your Watch when paying; you have to rotate your wrist upside down above the POS terminal. There is haptic feedback and a tone indicating that you've paid, but ideally I'd prefer to SEE that confirmation on my Watch screen at the moment of payment.
The iPhone 6 works well, even though I have to get it out of my pocket !
The iPhone 6 works well, even though I have to get it out of my pocket !
Cheques work well, even though you have to get them out of your bag and find a pen to sign them !
I would but I'm with effing Barclays.
Killer APP
...for the lucky ones that live in a country where the banks support it yet.
Other than that: ONE of the killer APPs
Of the roughly 20 percent of respondents that don't use Apple Pay on Watch, 5 percent said they "do not perceive a benefit" from Apple Pay, 5 percent have security concerns and 15 are using other methods of payment. - 5 5 15 = 25% not 20%.
Further down 3% of respondents has issues with security, but we've just given a 5% figure here.
Lies, damned lies and statistics = pundits who can't produce a clear report that has any value.
Definitely the best use I've found for my Apple Watch yet. So much easier than getting my phone/wallet out.
I also think general comfort and familiarity from my standpoint is even more critical which will go away over time.
This will be so convenient once some wrinkles are ironed out.
Apple Pay survey:
"It's magical," - ok those are the idiots.
"It's convenient," - that's more like it
"About time you did something useful you ridiculous bauble" - one week in, buyer's remorse
"Well, you see first the transaction is signed by my 4096-bit private key, and is then routed to Apple via my iPhone, where..." - Maurice Moss
"Here's what I found on the web..." - Siri accidentally left on
Love using ?Pay with the Watch. But I wish people would quit using this stupid "killer app" phrase. I use my watch for many different things. There is no one "killer" thing there's lots of little things that add up to an overall killer experience. Just like the phone. There's no "killer app" for the iPhone unless we consider the internet to be an app.
Great summary - like you I find there is no one thing that makes the watch a must have but a combination of Apple Pay, activity tracking, heart rate monitor, comfort & notifications mean that my previou swatch (Swiss mechanical) has been sat of my bedside cabinet for the last couple of months.
Also, we've had touch payments in the UK for years so Apple Pay makes things more complicated.
Say what???? Apple Pay on the Watch is dead simple.