Study: Mobile payments account for 19.5% of global transactions

Amsterdam, Netherlands -- Mobile payments accounted for 19.5% of all transactions worldwide in December 2013, a growth of 55% year-over-year, up from 12.6% the previous December. The third Adyen Mobile Payments Index, covering the period September to December 2013, also shows that mobile transaction volume in retail has risen by a third, up to 23%.



In retail, transaction volume for tablets rose 15.9% and for smartphones grew 7.1%. Average retail transaction values for tablet purchases were $122; PC purchases $92 and smartphone purchases $90. The retail industry stands out in that it recorded a higher transaction volume for tablets than for smartphones (and the highest share of tablet transaction volume in any other vertical) and it recorded the largest average transaction value for tablets comparative to smartphones and PCs in its vertical. This suggests that the retail industry leads the way in improving the tablet user experience for e-commerce, where a key part of the picture is streamlining the payment process to encourage more conversions.



Apple remains the most popular platform for mobile payments. The iPad won the highest share of 2014 holiday shopping transactions, taking 41% of mobile transactions over the September to December period, and in second place was the iPhone, at 31.6%. Android smartphones proved more popular than Android tablets, capturing 20% of mobile transactions compared to 6.6%. Windows Mobile devices have made up a steady 0.6% of mobile transactions since June 2013. BlackBerry hardly figured in the last four months, taking just 0.2%, down from 0.3% in the previous four months.



Looking at smartphones as a category, Android looks to be steadily closing the gap on the iPhone’s lead. In April 2013, iPhone had a 68.5% share of mobile transactions, compared with 30.7% on Android. By August, it was 62.5% to 35.9%, and in December 2013, iPhone share stood at 60% and Android at 38.6%. This reflects the increasing number of Android devices available, and in particular the growing popularity of Samsung, which shipped more than 300 million devices in 2013 and whose sales accounted for one in three smartphones sold that year.



“Ease of payment is vital for merchants to keep up with the evolution of mobile devices and consumer behavior,” said Roelant Prins, chief commerce officer, Adyen. “Businesses are focusing on enhancing their payment interface over mobile channels to make it responsive, simple and clear for users. That’s why having access to data on transaction volume and value is highly useful for merchants looking to optimize the user experience across mobile channels. It’s fascinating to look at a trend like tablets emerging as the leading device for more expensive purchases, and using this knowledge strategically to increase conversion rates.”