Apple Pay accepted at 1 out of 2 U.S. stores, says Apple VP Jennifer Bailey
Speaking at NRF 2018 Retail's Big Show in New York earlier this month, Apple Pay VP Jennifer Bailey presented a speech detailing how iPhone changed the retail landscape, and outlined the tech company's ongoing efforts in the mobile payment marketplace.
Apple Pay VP Jennifer Bailey. | Source: CNET
Addressing conference attendees in a speech entitled "The Modern Shopping Experience," Bailey presented a few interesting tidbits relating to Apple Pay growth and adoption, as well as insight into Apple's current and future ambitions for mobile payments services, reports CNET Japan.
Led by iPhone, mobile is doing more to revolutionize e-commerce than any other platform, Bailey said. Purchases made on smartphones and tablets account for 25 percent of e-commerce transactions in the U.S. The rate of growth for mobile transactions is four times that of desktop, and 10 times that of traditional brick and mortar retail.
The same phenomenon is occurring outside the U.S. China, for example, sees 80 percent of its e-commerce transactions performed on mobile devices.
Apple Pay is behind a large chunk of those purchases. According to Bailey, Apple Pay availability was limited to about 3 percent of stores in the U.S. when it launched in 2014, but is now accepted in 50 percent of stores.
"It's the world's most accepted contactless payment technology," Bailey said.
Beyond reasonably wide acceptance, the platform plays an integral role in the mobile e-commerce boom. The company provides retailer support in four distinct areas: apps, transaction settlement, loyalty programs and integration between store and mobile.
On the topic of apps, Bailey noted iOS presents retailers an innovative platform on which they can sell their wares. With iOS 11, sellers can provide customers with unique experiences that harness device hardware like location services, biometrics and, with iPhone X, TrueDepth camera technology.
Warby Parker's latest app, for example, utilizes TrueDepth to recommend eyewear based on facial maps generated from a user's face.
Other companies like home decoration firm Wayfair tap into ARKit to offer customers immersive shopping experiences. The Wayfair app allows users to "try out" furniture by placing virtual representations of desired pieces in their home.
Both Warby Parker and Wayfair accept Apple Pay, meaning innovative sales features are seamlessly merged with fast and secure checkout. That speed and safety sets Apple Pay apart from physical credit card with chip solutions, defining Apple's contribution to EC settlements.
As for loyalty programs, Bailey highlighted offerings from Kohl's and Walgreens, both of which integrate with the Wallet app and in-store point-of-sale terminals.
Finally, Bailey touched on Apple's in-house initiatives rolled out through the company's retail locations. Staff members use a Concierge app to manage appointments, while Leader Board acts as an in-depth tool for tracking store performance, POS transactions, Genius Bar assets, repair orders and more.
The Apple Store app blurs the line between online and physical shopping. Using the app, customers can purchase an item and receive a push notification when it's ready for pickup. Once at an Apple Store, location services determine a device is in the vicinity to trigger another notification with a redemption QR code. Integration with Apple Wallet makes for a seamless checkout experience.
"You can discover and purchase services and products in new ways, from pickups to recommended personalized products. We will continue to develop [this technology] in the future," Bailey said, according to CNET.
Apple Pay VP Jennifer Bailey. | Source: CNET
Addressing conference attendees in a speech entitled "The Modern Shopping Experience," Bailey presented a few interesting tidbits relating to Apple Pay growth and adoption, as well as insight into Apple's current and future ambitions for mobile payments services, reports CNET Japan.
Led by iPhone, mobile is doing more to revolutionize e-commerce than any other platform, Bailey said. Purchases made on smartphones and tablets account for 25 percent of e-commerce transactions in the U.S. The rate of growth for mobile transactions is four times that of desktop, and 10 times that of traditional brick and mortar retail.
The same phenomenon is occurring outside the U.S. China, for example, sees 80 percent of its e-commerce transactions performed on mobile devices.
Apple Pay is behind a large chunk of those purchases. According to Bailey, Apple Pay availability was limited to about 3 percent of stores in the U.S. when it launched in 2014, but is now accepted in 50 percent of stores.
"It's the world's most accepted contactless payment technology," Bailey said.
Beyond reasonably wide acceptance, the platform plays an integral role in the mobile e-commerce boom. The company provides retailer support in four distinct areas: apps, transaction settlement, loyalty programs and integration between store and mobile.
On the topic of apps, Bailey noted iOS presents retailers an innovative platform on which they can sell their wares. With iOS 11, sellers can provide customers with unique experiences that harness device hardware like location services, biometrics and, with iPhone X, TrueDepth camera technology.
Warby Parker's latest app, for example, utilizes TrueDepth to recommend eyewear based on facial maps generated from a user's face.
Other companies like home decoration firm Wayfair tap into ARKit to offer customers immersive shopping experiences. The Wayfair app allows users to "try out" furniture by placing virtual representations of desired pieces in their home.
Both Warby Parker and Wayfair accept Apple Pay, meaning innovative sales features are seamlessly merged with fast and secure checkout. That speed and safety sets Apple Pay apart from physical credit card with chip solutions, defining Apple's contribution to EC settlements.
As for loyalty programs, Bailey highlighted offerings from Kohl's and Walgreens, both of which integrate with the Wallet app and in-store point-of-sale terminals.
Finally, Bailey touched on Apple's in-house initiatives rolled out through the company's retail locations. Staff members use a Concierge app to manage appointments, while Leader Board acts as an in-depth tool for tracking store performance, POS transactions, Genius Bar assets, repair orders and more.
The Apple Store app blurs the line between online and physical shopping. Using the app, customers can purchase an item and receive a push notification when it's ready for pickup. Once at an Apple Store, location services determine a device is in the vicinity to trigger another notification with a redemption QR code. Integration with Apple Wallet makes for a seamless checkout experience.
"You can discover and purchase services and products in new ways, from pickups to recommended personalized products. We will continue to develop [this technology] in the future," Bailey said, according to CNET.
Comments
* I've been ordering these free decals for 2(?) years now to give to retailers that support ApplePay but don't know it or advertise it as a way of spreading the word and helping me achieve my goal of no longer having to carry a wallet with any physical cards: https://www.applepaysupplies.com/applepaykit.html
And theres that new Apple peer to peer psy option so....
for myself the extra security if the tokenized ApplePay makes the effort to seek out stores that accept it is worth it. My last holdout are gas stations.
/s
There are several local places that I frequent that take ApplePay and typically I can go out without having to carry around my wallet. And I live in rural western Massachusetts, not in a city by any means.
Edit: I just remembered, at that diner when using ApplePay I do not need to sign the receipt, but when using my credit card for a similar amount at the same place I did need to sign. So, another little time saver.
By the way, the Wayfair app’s ARkit functionality is a joke. I’m not even sure they’re using ARkit. My wife shops Wayfair all the time so I tried her app last night. All it does is overlay the item on the camera view. It doesn’t determine where the floor is, the item is just a 2D picture that can be scaled. Once the camera starts to move the item retains its position on the screen, not in the room. Just goofy.
Sam's/Walmart? No.
Lowe's? No.
Home Depot? No.
Target? No.
Gas stations? No.
Local BBQ place? No.
Hilton Garden Inn? No.
Tractor Supply? No.
Baskin-Robins? Yes.
Brookshire's? Yes.
Chick-Fil-A? Yes.
These are just a few examples. Overall, less than 20% of the places I go accept Apple Pay.
I’ve noticed more places that I frequent accept Apple Pay but often times I’m so used to paying with Debit Card with chip that I forget to use it.
I call shenanigans on the Warby Parker app. How is that app going to help you with anything but style of the glasses. An optometrist will let you know if you have a stigmatism or retinal cancer and a whole host of eye problems.
I also see people utterly confused — even now — regarding their ability to use the ApplePay when they don’t see an AP logo, when most NFC-capable machines allow you to use your phone or Watch. I still believe that its, overall, extremely poor marketing and education by Apple. Also, I maintain that Apple should have got into the hardware piece of of the POS market, essentially giving it away for free and making it up in transaction fees.
Signing, as mentioned, is still very common, but even that's going away with chip cards as a requirement for MasterCard, and there are already allowances that let smaller purchases be signature free.
i found that “PIN required” issue to be a mashup of bank+retailer odd backend requirements. Took my credit union and Office Depot about six month to stop that silliness. Meanwhile, Amex flawless as usual