Asian-based payment methods are driving global mobile payments adoption, says a study conducted by global payments technology company Adyen.
Adyen’s 2015 Q4 edition (Sept-Dec) of its quarterly Mobile Payments Index tracks mobile payment data from browser-based transactions across Adyen’s customer base. Results from the latest index showed that for the first time over a third (34%) of browser-based online transactions globally are made via a mobile device, compared to just over 30% last quarter.
Results showed this increase is driven by major Asian-based payment methods such as JCB, UnionPay and Alipay. JCB recorded the highest share of mobile payments across all the payment methods analyzed, with 54% of payments on the Adyen platform made on a mobile device, up from 47% last quarter. Alipay increased to 44% (up from 35%), and UnionPay to 31% (from 23%).
“The checkout stage of the shopper journey is not the end, but the beginning of an on-going relationship with the consumer. Merchants that have created a frictionless mobile checkout experience are driving repeat traffic especially in Asia where many consumers are increasingly shopping online through a mobile device,” said Warren Hayashi, President, Adyen Asia Pacific.
In Europe, iDEAL (Netherlands) was steady at 49% of online payments on mobile, Open Invoice (Scandinavia and Germany) reached 47%, Bancontact/Mr Cash (Belgium) was at 39%, and SEPA Direct Debit (Europe-wide) at 22%.
While shoppers have generally preferred making retail purchases on tablets rather than smartphones, the Index shows that for the first time, smartphones have overtaken tablets as the preferred device for making online retail purchases, at 17.5% on smartphone against 16% on tablet, compared to 14% and 17% respectively last quarter. This compares to 29% of digital goods payments on mobile against 7% on tablet, figures that are consistent with last quarter.
Smartphones continue to grow their share of mobile payment volume, increasing 2% from last quarter to 68% on smartphone versus 32% on tablet. This trend of smartphone increasing its share has now been continuing for 10 straight quarters.
On a regional basis, smartphone use far outweighed tablet use in Asia, with 29.5% of online payments on a smartphone compared to 4.5% on a tablet. Europe and the U.S. displayed a similar but less pronounced trend, with 23% of online payments on a smartphone and 11% on tablet in Europe, and 23% on a smartphone and 8% on a tablet in the U.S.
iPad users have the highest average transaction value
But despite the overwhelming popularity of smartphones over tablets in terms of making a purchase across both regions and verticals, one bright spot for tablets is that in terms of average transaction value (ATV) for device types, the iPad led the way for the first time, at $107, edging out not just smartphones, but also desktop/laptop, the traditional leader, at $106. This was followed by the Android tablets at $86, iPhone at $83, and Android smartphones at $73.
Among individual markets, the U.K. continues to lead the way in mobile payment adoption, with 49% of online transactions on mobile device (and just over 34% of these on a smartphone). Among other high adoption markets, the Netherlands reached 35% (23% on smartphone), and Sweden 32% (25% on smartphone).