SUNNYVALE, Calif. - Despite the fact that Google was out in front of the pack with a mobile wallet announcement, a recent Pulse study from Retrevo, a shopping and review site specializing in consumer electronics, found that not only are iPhone owners more enthusiastic about a mobile wallet, but they want Apple to provide it.
In the study, smartphone owners tended to lean toward their phone operating system when picking their preference for a mobile wallet provider. However, the study found that iPhone owners would be more comfortable using a mobile wallet from Apple to a much greater extent (61%) than Android owners (46%) would like to use a Google wallet.
The providers most closely associated with credit cards and cell phones ranked below companies like Apple and Microsoft, namely MasterCard (40%), Visa (34%), AT&T (28%) and Verizon (27%).
Moving into mainstream usage, however, has its challenges. Only around 21% of consumers would like to buy things with a mobile wallet and are waiting for that capability to be in their next cell phone. Unfortunately for mobile wallet providers, the overwhelming majority (79%) of consumers in Retrevo??s study are either not interested in mobile wallets or don??t know what a mobile wallet is.
Interest in mobile wallets also divides along generational lines with 28% of 18 to 35 year-olds expressing much stronger interest in the technology than the large majority (75%) of the 50 and older set who don??t want anything to do with it. Men appear to be more interested in buying things (27%) with their phones as women (15%), with nearly twice as many men indicating they would like to be able to buy things with their cell phones.
In terms of security, mobile wallet providers will likely have to address consumer concerns. The Retrevo study found that nearly half of those who are not interested in mobile wallets said they wouldn??t trust any of the companies that were suggested to provide a mobile wallet ?" which includes major credit card providers, carriers and other prominent companies.
The study indicates that not everyone is convinced that mobile wallets are "the next big thing." Apple iPhone owners appear much more ready to accept mobile wallets and would prefer Apple to provide them with one, although it appears uncertain whether or not Apple is going to provide this technology in the next iPhone, notes Retrevo.
Read more about the future of mobile payments in NACS Magazine.