NEW YORK – Since the October 2014 launch of Apple Pay, two brick-and-mortar retailers have experienced the largest proportion of credit card transactions from customers using Apple’s mobile payment service: Duane Reade and Whole Foods.

Business Insider reports that TXN data, derived from the firm’s research panel of transactions from more than three million payment cards, suggests there is an Apple Pay “success story” according to the firm’s CEO, Jonathan Wolf.

"If you offer a payment option while shopping on your phone, it's a real thing," Wolf told the news source, adding, "Five years ago the ability to pull my phone out of my pocket and pay did not exist." Since then, he said, "I’ve gotten faster and faster on the draw. There’s a point where it’s actually faster to pull out your phone."

TXN data found that overall, Apple Pay usage has been growing steadily over the last year, with the number of monthly Apple Pay transactions increasing by 50% between December 2015 and December 2016.

When looking at which merchants have attracted the highest proportion of Apple Pay transactions, popular mobile apps and websites rank highest, with lodging app HotelTonight and food delivery services Caviar, Postmates and DoorDash leading the way. TXN found that Boxed.com has the highest adoption of all retailers.

Brick-and-mortar businesses having the largest proportion of credit card transactions using Apple Pay are led by drug store chain Duane Reade and specialty grocer Whole Foods, with both going live with Apple Pay when it launched in 2014 and are now “way ahead of their brick-and-mortar brethren.”

TXN concludes that Apply Pay had strong growth in 2016, but still accounts for a fairly small percent of all credit card transactions, “leaving lots of room for further growth.”