In order for most of us to change a long-established and frequently reinforced behavior, there needs to be a consistently desirable reward that that outweighs keeping the status quo. Essentially open with the answer to the question of “what’s in it for me”.
The top two reasons for lapses in mobile wallet usage are because consumers either forget to use them or are unsure of which merchants accept them, both of which are issues that can be easily resolved if retailers take measures to move mobile wallets to the front of consumers’ minds. If this is something that brands are willing to invest time into, they will ultimately boost their sales, via schemes such as targeted vouchers, rewards and loyalty programmes, however the process needs to be made easier and reciprocal benefits are essential.
Mercator Advisory Group recognizes retailers have been hard-pressed with adoption of EMV standards and have had limited resources with which to pivot to accommodate the gradually expanding demographic that has embraced mobile payment. As the EMV projects conclude, expansion of acceptance of the leading forms of universal mobile wallets will gain traction. We anticipate those wallet schemes that have secured widespread demonstrable usage and demand by the end of this year will have strong adoption by retailers. It will be a case where the best technology does not guarantee advancement, but rather the most popular schemes will move to the next round.
Overview by Joseph Walent, Senior Analyst, Emerging Technologies at Mercator Advisory Group
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