Nielsen: Mobile wallet apps are changing consumer habits

199IT original compilation

In an era of continuous development, mobile payment brings more and more convenience to consumers, while also bringing opportunities to marketers.

Nielsen President Randall Beard hosted the Nielsen Consumer 360 Conference in Washington, D.C., to discuss the current mobile payments landscape and the opportunities it presents to marketers. Attendees shared their perspectives on the future of mobile wallet payments and the current user landscape.

A lot of time was spent discussing the challenges facing developing markets, as these markets have a large number of users.

“Mobile payments are definitely going to become a significant payment method,” said MasterCard’s Jankowski. “One of the barriers to scale is figuring out what the standards are. I think that’s a fundamental issue that we need to overcome, but there’s no doubt that mobile payments adoption is going to increase.”
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Panelists acknowledged that mobile wallet adoption in emerging markets has caught up with the rest of the world, with Demand Institute’s Keely saying, “If you don’t know what’s happening in emerging markets, you should know because this is what’s happening in developing markets, too.”

In terms of opportunities, IBM's Jimenez said merchant-based applications have seen significant growth, although many consumer applications have seen lower usage. "I'm very concerned about mobile wallets in this area," he said. "I know people have a lot of apps on their phones, but the data shows that usage of these applications is growing."

Mobile wallets accounted for 18% of apps accessed by U.S. smartphone users in the first quarter of 2015. Mobile wallet users also have more sophisticated financial habits, which provides excellent opportunities for marketers, and consumers who use mobile payments often have investment accounts.

Unlock marketing potential

According to MasterCard's Jankowski, the key to unlocking mobile wallets is hidden in the data.

"The more data we have on peer-to-peer purchases, the more marketing opportunities we have," he said. "The closer we are to the information, the more we can do with less effort."

IBM's Jimenez added: "Cash is more expensive and less secure, and from a merchant's perspective, they need to know their customers. Mobile wallets help to complete this process."

Mobile payments are poised to take off, with about 6 in 10 Americans predicting that smartphone tap-to-pay will eventually replace payment cards (63%) and cash transactions (57%), according to a recent Harris Poll survey. In fact, 3 in 10 Americans believe that smartphone tap-to-pay will replace credit and debit cards in the next five years, and about a quarter of Americans believe that cash transactions will also be replaced in five years.

Compiled from: Nielsen Translator: Sun Ying