LONDON -- Retailers interested in the potential of mobile payment at their stores should consider dangling a carrot.
In a white paper published this year, London-based Euromonitor International said that although mobile payments are relatively new, one early study indicates consumers can be incentivized into using mobile payments. As part of an Accenture study conducted in late 2012, the Euromonitor white paper said the majority of U.S. and Canadian consumers surveyed were resistant to mobile payments up until they attempted them and realized the benefits.
Consumers who reported not having made a mobile payment said they had security and privacy concerns or believed there were more convenient payment methods. They would, however, reconsider, if enticed.
The study found that merchants should motivate consumers through value-added tools to encourage adoption, as well as attract more valuable customers. The same study also found that 60% of consumers who already make mobile payments said they would probably do so more often if they received instant coupons.
Going further, some 36% said they would hand over personal information in exchange for such rewards and 46% of users indicated they would increase payments, if offered short-term, location-based coupons.
In its white paper, Euromonitor listed reasons why consumers have not adopted mobile payments:
- Security: Nearly half of smartphone users that have not used mobile payments said they had not due to security reasons.
- Privacy: Another third of smartphone users that have not made mobile payments are worried about their privacy.
- Uninformed: Surprisingly, 41% of North American smartphone users were unaware their phones could make payments.
- Inconvenient: Some 37% have not made mobile payments because of the convenience of their current payment method.
While retailers can only do so much to get consumers past these hurdles, the potential exists. And as time goes on, the channel and its customers may soon reach critical mass.
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