Apple Pay Doing Very Well In Apps

One area of confusion the lay person may have regarding Apple Pay should be cleared up briefly before I continue this post.

Apple Pay refers to two very different products: (1) pay in-store with your iPhone 6 or 6 Plus via a card you added to Apple Pay, and (2) pay online via Apple Pay and a card you added to Apple Pay.

Part one is not taking off very well at all.  It appears part two is doing quite well.

The benefit of Apple Pay online or in an app is the reduced friction between intent to buy and payment.  Just click the 'Apple Pay' paying option and provide your finger print verification.  Done.  The early numbers show this is having a real impact on sales online and in app.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/briansolomon/2015/01/22/forget-stores-apple-pay-is-already-taking-over-mobile-shopping/

Here is a snippet from that piece:

It’s a small sample size, with Apple Pay only out since late October, but so far iPhone owners with the service enabled are vastly more likely to make online purchases on their phones. Take sports and concert ticket search app SeatGeek, whose sleek new checkout screen boasts a conversion rate up to 30%. With Apple Pay, that follow-through rate shoots up to 80%.

Where I think you'll see some misleading remarks come in to play is in blanket statements such as "Apple Pay is Already Taking Over" or "Apple Pay a Bust" (those are both actual headlines).  Which component of Apple Pay is doing well and which is struggling?  Both?  Neither?  I'm betting Apple will always refer to the numbers that paint their company in the best light and if they have success in one will attempt to leverage that to help the other.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant