Apple Pay – Good for eCommerce?

September 17, 2014 By BJ Cook,

Last week, Apple made their September announcement. They revealed their iPhone 6/6 Plus and the Apple Watch -- read our take on it here. The most fascinating part of these devices though, is that they are going to come equipped with Apple Pay.

What is Apple Pay?

Single touch payment that is stored in your Passbook on the iPhone and Apple Watch. As stated on the apple.com website “Apple Pay will change how you pay with breakthrough contactless payment technology and unique security features built right into the devices you have with you every day. So you can use your iPhone 6 to pay in an easy, secure, and private way.” [caption id="attachment_7468" align="aligncenter" width="222"]

Photo credit: Apple.com[/caption]

How To Use it?

With Apple Pay, an iPhone 6 owner will be able to check out at a register by holding their phone up to a wireless pay terminal with their fingerprint on the sensor, activating Apple’s Touch ID technology. Or they will be able to use the online version and click “Apple Pay” at checkout, and a subtle vibration will let you know that your payment was successful. [caption id="attachment_7469" align="aligncenter" width="300"]

Photo credit: Apple.com[/caption]

Why Is Apple Pay Big News?

With the mobile shopping becoming more successful and more of a natural way for people to shop, Apple Pay will make it easier for consumers to buy at their fingertips. No more excuses of not having their credit card at the ready. If you are shopping on your phone you are going to have your credit card available.

What does it mean for ecommerce companies?

This could mean many things for ecommerce companies. Maybe it’s where shopping cart abandonment rates start to decrease or maybe it’s going to cause an influx in impulse buying. What about Black Friday Shopping? With last year 39.7% of all online traffic coming from mobile devices -- we can almost guarantee that more consumers will shop on their mobile devices with the ease of Apple Pay. Our Director, Digital Marketing, Alvaro Martinez states:

“Year over year Apple users have quickly migrated over to the new iPhone once it becomes available. From an eComm perspective, this year Apple Pay represents the last piece to the puzzle to last years Touch ID introduction. Combined with the fact that iPhone 6 and 6 Plus market penetration will be the greatest of all Apple products, and that Apple Pay is being integrated by a number of merchants, including Macy’s, McDonald’s, Sephora, Subway and Walgreens, its impact could be felt quickly.

Yes, Apple will now have control over users hardware, software and payment source, but ultimately, consumers will be the ones in control. If they choose Apple Pay in mass, then the merchants will have no choice but to follow.”

Almost all major credit cards and banks are currently participating and joining forces with Apple, allowing over 220,000 stores to accept Apple Pay (starting in October), with even more stores in cue. [caption id="attachment_7473" align="aligncenter" width="300"]

Photo credit: Apple.com[/caption] We think Apple Pay is going to be a huge benefit to our ecommerce clients - one thing we know for sure, is that consumers like an easy and seamless shopping process. And that’s what Apple Pay is going to provide for them.