33.9% of Americans have used their mobile phone to make a purchase, according to a July 2012 report from IDC Financial Insights. This represents a 76% increase from 19.3% who said they had made a mobile payment a year ago. Among those who have made a mobile payment, PayPal Mobile (56%) counts as the most popular service.
A May 2012 report from JiWire noted a similar increase in mobile consumers’ use of mobile wallets. According to that report, 37% of mobile users surveyed in Q1 2012 reported having used a mobile wallet in the previous 90 days, up from just 11% who reported use of a wallet one quarter earlier. PayPal was also the top choice among these respondents.
4 in 10 Use Contactless Payments
Data from IDC Financial Insights’ “2012 Consumer Payments Survey” indicates that roughly 4 in 10 respondents who use their mobile device to make a purchase have made a contactless payment. The most popular mobile payment methods are via an application at the point-of-sale (POS) and via mobile browser at the POS. Text at POS is the least popular method, but still sees adoption by more than one-third of these consumers.
Physical Goods Most Common Purchase
Physical goods proved to the most common online purchase with mobile phones, with more than 7 in 10 reporting purchase of such goods. Digital goods followed, with roughly two-thirds purchasing, ahead of online services and virtual currency. Although virtual currency lagged the other purchases in terms of popularity, close to 20% of the respondents indicated an interest in potentially buying virtual currency.
About the Data: IDC Financial Insights’ “2012 Consumer Payments Survey” (#FIN235594) was conducted in May 2012 among 2,663 US residents aged 18 and older.
