Mobile payments gaining consumer traction

by Shazam Network

The mobile payments industry has continued to gain traction in the past 12 months, according to the recently released 2014 Mobile Payments State of the Industry Report.

Smartphone use, the report says, is nearly ubiquitous among American shoppers. More than 90 percent of consumers currently use smartphones compared to 66 percent in 2012. Additionally, 93 percent of respondents reported using their smartphones to access the Internet, up from 65 percent in 2012.

That’s led to a lot more people using their phones to shop through retail offerings. Sixty percent of smartphone users have used their device to shop and engage with mobile card processing terminals, up significantly from 41 percent last year.

The survey also found that, in addition to online purchases, many consumers are using their smartphones at store locations. One out of every four respondents who had used their mobile device to shop said they had paid for a product with their mobile phone at a brick-and-mortar retailer. An additional 18 percent had scanned a Quick Reference (QR) code from their phone while at the point of sale.

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