Apple Pay Doubled Mobile Wallet Transactions at Walgreens, Accounted for 50% of Tap-to-Pay Purchases at McDonald's

[MacRumors]

Apple Pay has been available in quite a few retail stores since its release more than three weeks ago on October 20, but thus far there's been little concrete indication of its popularity with customers. A new report from The New York Times, however, sheds some light on Apple Pay's early success.

McDonald's, an early Apple Pay partner that accepts the payment system in all of its 14,000 restaurants in the United States, saw Apple Pay accounting for 50 percent of all of its tap-to-pay transactions. At Walgreens, a drugstore chain of more than 8,000 stores, Apple Pay doubled the number of mobile wallet payments being made.

As shared earlier this month, Whole Foods processed 150,000 Apple Pay transactions between October 20 and November 6, which equated to an estimated one percent of all Whole Foods transactions.

Some stores, however, haven't seen as much success with Apple Pay. According to Toys R Us, which has 870 stores in the United States, while there was an increase in mobile payments, it was minor "because customers were still learning about the new technology."

As noted by The New York Times, the interest consumers are expressing in Apple Pay hints at a growing acceptance for mobile payment solutions. Denée Carrington, a Forrester Research analyst attributed Apple Pay's early success to the "strength of the Apple Brand" and the ease of the experience. "I'm not saying it's changing the landscape overnight," she said. "But this has never happened with other mobile wallets."

Along with bolstering mobile wallet usage in retail stores, Apple Pay has also been responsible for increasing consumer interest in the mobile payment arena in general. Google Wallet, for example, saw a surge in usage after the launch of Apple Pay, and Softcard, another mobile payment solution backed by AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile has also seen a growing number of users.

According to Softcard CEO Michael Abbott, "Apple Pay has been a huge tailwind" and a "rising tide that has lifted all boats."

Mr. Abbott said that because of Apple, many companies now want to support the same technology for paying by phone: near-field communication, which enables devices to exchange information wirelessly over very short distances. This consistency would help make paying for things with a smartphone less confusing for shoppers.

Apple currently has 36 retail partners that accept Apple Pay in their stores, and new partners are signing up on a regular basis as the payments service catches on. Just this week office supply store Staples and grocery chains Winn-Dixie and BI-LO began accepting Apple Pay payments.

Article Link: Apple Pay Doubled Mobile Wallet Transactions at Walgreens, Accounted for 50% of Tap-to-Pay Purchases at McDonald's

 

[penajmz]

Of course it did. Hopefully this sends a clear message to certain retailers out there....

 

[nepalisherpa]

Conclusion: iPhone 6 and 6+ users like eating unhealthy food at McDonalds and then go to Walgreens for some digestive aids!

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

Got my 6+ on Wednesday and though it's all setup with Pay, I haven't had an opportunity to use it yet.

 

[Fondaparinux]

Walgreens and McDonald's can thank MCX for eliminating competition.

 

[bmad5]

You realize those are the same numbers right? Doubling the number of transactions and accounting for half of them?

 

[T-Will]

My Apple Pay usage is limited because my main credit card isn't supported yet.

 

[CFreymarc]

I would love to see the RFID on the iPhone 6 and 6+ used for tagging on and off from public mass transit systems.

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My Apple Pay usage is limited because my main credit card isn't supported yet.

Ditto. Was really bummed out when all of my cards were rejected by Apple Pay. I'm sure they are talking with many banks and switches out there for this to work and each have their own terms and conditions to deal with based on the arrangement of the stars at the date of their incorporation.

 

[ASUgrad1999]

When will we start to see it advertised by the retailers with signs "Apple Pay Accepted Here!" I've used it at about 6 different McDonald's and every time the employee comments that I was the first person they'd seen ever use it usually with a "that's so cool" comment.

 

[palmerc2]

Users in these stats have the newest iPhone 6, a highly sought after premium device. Its users demand the best.

Not willing to get better food than McDonalds.

Oye....

 

[cdmoore74]

Problem I see is that the smaller mom and pop stores would take forever to incorporate this. Even El Famous burrito won't take debit/credit cards and they have some decent Mexican food.
You can only eat McDonald's, taco bell and other large food chains for so long. I got so tired of eating Woopers I don't even go to burger King.

 

[iOS909]

It will be interesting to see how quickly Apple Pay is adopted in regions more accustomed to using NFC when it launches outside the US. I'm quite looking forward to using it.

 

[TimelessOne]

I like the 50% tap to pay at McDonalds. So like what .1% of all payments?

 

[proline]

When will we start to see it advertised by the retailers with signs "Apple Pay Accepted Here!" I've used it at about 6 different McDonald's and every time the employee comments that I was the first person they'd seen ever use it usually with a "that's so cool" comment.

Wow. Six different MacDonalds in less than a month, not counting repeat trips... I assume you work out two hours a day or whatever...

I for one hope never to see Apple Pay Accepted Here!!! I hope it becomes ubiquitous instead.

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I like the 50% tap to pay at McDonalds. So like what .1% of all payments?

There's no way of knowing. What we do know is that Apple is far, far ahead of Android considering that the other half are mostly NFC enabled chip cards, not phones. In your case, you shouldn't spend too much time thinking about it- as you mentioned yesterday you are learning to use scrollviews which is a much better use of time.

 

[tmiw]

Meanwhile I'm actively seeking out physical credit cards with NFC, thanks to Google Wallet being more unreliable than I'd like. So far only American Express, Diners Club and Wells Fargo seem to have them though. Maybe I'll end up being one of those that gets an iPhone just for Apple Pay as well.

 

[hoon2999]

Yeah the "technology that helps you not to take out your wallet to buy things." I went to walgreen but i still had to bring out wallet to take out ID card. (Buying cigarettes). Shame liar!!

 

[TimelessOne]

Meanwhile I'm actively seeking out physical credit cards with NFC, thanks to Google Wallet being more unreliable than I'd like. So far only American Express, Diners Club and Wells Fargo seem to have them though. Maybe I'll end up being one of those that gets an iPhone just for Apple Pay as well.

I believe some master cards have them as well. The only card I have ever personally used it on is my AMEX card but it has always been so iffy on if it will work that I do not even bother trying any more on it.

 

[koulmj]

You realize those are the same numbers right? Doubling the number of transactions and accounting for half of them?

Lol

 

[micharwood]

You realize those are the same numbers right? Doubling the number of transactions and accounting for half of them?

You realize those are not the same numbers, right?

Doubling: We used to process 200 transactions, but now we process 400.

Accounting for half: We used to process 200 transactions, and we still do, but now 100 of them are Apple Pay.

 

[RangerOne]

The first time I tried it, I was astounded. It was amazingly simple, and so frictionless that I seriously did not think it even worked... but it did. And the cashier at the Panera Bread restaurant, who hadn't yet seen it in action, exclaimed "That was so cool!"

But then I've had nothing but troubles. At my local Subway, they said they supported it but they couldn't get it to work (and I could't even find their NFC reader-- it clearly wasn't connected). At a McDonald's it said "Done" but then said payment was declined. Very odd, considering I then used the same credit card successfully. And even back at the same Panera Bread where I used it, my second attempt didn't work because they only had one NFC reader for the 4 cash registers, and I was at one without NFC.

The technology is amazingly frictionless and convenient...but until every register supports it, and until more merchants and banks (where is Discover?!) climb on board, it's just too hit-or-miss to get large-scale adoption.

I will say this: In the last 10 years I've been to Walgreens twice (it's further out of the way compared to the two CVSs in my town). Since Apple Pay was launched, I have been to Walgreens about 8 or 9 times, and CVS not once. I support this new technology, and am not happy about some companies blocking me from using it.

 

[tmiw]

I believe some master cards have them as well. The only card I have ever personally used it on is my AMEX card but it has always been so iffy on if it will work that I do not even bother trying any more on it.

If you get the chip and signature AMEX that also has contactless it works a lot better. Maybe not at Staples and Walgreens for the time being but that should be fixed eventually.

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The first time I tried it, I was astounded. It was amazingly simple, and so frictionless that I seriously did not think it even worked... but it did. And the cashier at the Panera Bread restaurant, who hadn't yet seen it in action, exclaimed "That was so cool!"

But then I've had nothing but troubles. At my local Subway, they said they supported it but they couldn't get it to work (and I could't even find their NFC reader-- it clearly wasn't connected). At a McDonald's it said "Done" but then said payment was declined. Very odd, considering I then used the same credit card successfully. And even back at the same Panera Bread where I used it, my second attempt didn't work because they only had one NFC reader for the 4 cash registers, and I was at one without NFC.

The technology is amazingly frictionless and convenient...but until every register supports it, and until more merchants and banks (where is Discover?!) climb on board, it's just too hit-or-miss to get large-scale adoption.

I will say this: In the last 10 years I've been to Walgreens twice (it's further out of the way compared to the two CVSs in my town). Since Apple Pay was launched, I have been to Walgreens about 8 or 9 times, and CVS not once. I support this new technology, and am not happy about some companies blocking me from using it.

BTW, a lot of places don't have separate NFC readers; it's built-in to the terminal itself. Try tapping it on the screen at Subway next time.

 

[scottwaugh]

Got my 6+ on Wednesday and though it's all setup with Pay, I haven't had an opportunity to use it yet.

You're weekend mission has been defined…

 

[kybldmstr]

One day this will read "tap to pay accounted for 50% of all payments"

 

[scottwaugh]

Meanwhile I'm actively seeking out physical credit cards with NFC, thanks to Google Wallet being more unreliable than I'd like. So far only American Express, Diners Club and Wells Fargo seem to have them though. Maybe I'll end up being one of those that gets an iPhone just for Apple Pay as well.

Have a debit card (MasterCard) with NFC from Citibank (but you have to request the NFC otherwise you just get a debit card without NFC). Wouldn't be surprised if their credit cards are the same way. Course CitiBank is not a viable bank for many folks unless you live in a big city.

 

[ProfessorHenry]

Apple fans are too emotional about Applepay.