Retailers who are offering Apple Pay as a payment option to their customers report the service is piquing interest in mobile electronic payments, as usage numbers indicate substantially higher adoption rates than previous payment rollouts.
According to The New York Times, initial Apple Pay transaction statistics from major retailers across the U.S. may not be indicative of booming adoption rates, but the numbers indicate interest is substantially higher than previous rollouts from the likes of Google. The publication reports Apple Pay is even creating a tailwind for competitors by raising awareness of mobile payment options.
It was reported last week that Apple Pay already accounts for one percent of all transactions at the upscale Whole Foods grocery chain, and McDonald’s says Apple Pay makes up half of its “tap to pay” transactions. Drug store chain Walgreens says it has seen such transactions double since the debut of Apple Pay.
Some retailers do report slower adoption by their customers, (Toys R Us says their mobile payments have risen only slightly over the past few weeks), indicating some chain’s customers are still adapting to the new technology.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said earlier this month that over one million users had activated credit cards with Apple Pay in the first 72 hours following its launch.
The list of merchants offering Apple Pay also continues to grow, with southeastern grocery chains Winn-Dixie and BI-LO, and office supplies superstore Staples offering the payment option to their customers as of late last week.
