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Adoption rate of Apple Pay on the Apple Watch could eventually reach 95% – Wristly survey

A new survey of Apple Watch owners by Wristly found that 80% of those in the US and UK have already used Apple Pay, and suggests that this number could eventually hit 95%. The survey was limited to the two countries where Apple Pay is currently available.

The firm found that only 19% of Watch owners hadn’t yet tried Apple Pay, and of those only a quarter of them either had concerns or saw no benefits, suggesting that the rest were likely to try it at some later point.

The data also found that owning an Apple Watch dramatically increased the chances of using Apple Pay … 

By comparison [with the 80% of Apple Watch owners], the various surveys published in 2015 in the US assess Apple Pay usage level on iPhone 6 at around 15% to 20%.

Apple likes to use the term ‘magical’ to describe many of the experiences offered by its products, and it appears in this case owners agree with them – 51% saying that ‘magical’ was the best word to describe the experience of paying for something with their Watch, while 42% opted for the more prosaic ‘convenient’ (that was probably the Brits …).

Unsurprisingly, most Apple Watch owners said they preferred the watch to their iPhone when it came to using Apple Pay, just 9% preferring to use the phone.

And for any retailers unsure whether supporting Apple Pay would be worthwhile, a massive 96% of Watch owners want to use it at more locations, with 62% of them visiting supporting retailers more often.

If you haven’t yet tried an Apple Watch (perhaps because you’re a smartwatch skeptic), the process is now easier, with no appointment required.

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Comments

  1. twelve01 - 9 years ago

    I couldn’t agree more. The watch actually makes Apple Pay on the phone feel a little clunky – it’s that smooth. I also love that the phone doesn’t have to be on you for it to work.

  2. PMZanetti - 9 years ago

    I’ve all but stopped using Apple Pay until it starts to work better and there is more awareness of it. Out of maybe 100 times that I’ve tried to use it, its worked about 70%. That’s not very good. Not when a single failed attempt immediately creates frustration for the clerk and everyone else in line. And if it fails, you’re out of luck, because the clerk doesn’t even know what you’re doing and can offer no help.

    • twelve01 - 9 years ago

      Are you using the iPhone, Apple Watch or both? I’ve only had one instance in which the watch didn’t go through on the initial attempt, whereas the phone worked closer to 80% of the time. It also seems to work better at some retailers over others (Whole Foods, Walgreens, and Trader Joes are pretty solid). I haven’t had it work on non-Apple pay supported NFC terminals or vending machines.

    • Madmike193 (@madmike193) - 9 years ago

      You should try living in Canada, we have had touch pay for our cards at most of the stores for quite a long time but still no Apple Pay here yet. :-(

  3. bhayes444 - 9 years ago

    80% have USED Apple Pay, that doesn’t mean they are still using it. I’d like to see those survey results.

    • twelve01 - 9 years ago

      From Appleinsider.com: The report says 78 percent of users who set up Apple Pay on their Watch use it at least once a week,

  4. chrisl84 - 9 years ago

    Shocking poll reveals people will use feature available to them

  5. yojimbo007 - 9 years ago

    ApplePay on AppleWatch is a joy to use. Absolutely love it!

    Apple the biggest bug is not koniwing which merchants support the service and experimenting at the cash regiters to see if they support it…( and looking like a fool in the process if they dont)
    Flood merchants with ApplePay Stickers… Give them incentives to put stickers on windows and registers! P-lease!

  6. Joshua - 9 years ago

    If I could get mine to work on Apple Watch, I’d use it through Apple Watch. Alas, something is rotten in Denmark, in my n-of-1 case. However, I have had 100% success using Apple Pay through my iPhone. However, I haven’t really tried it anywhere I didn’t already know it was accepted, which, on the other hand, has caused me to change some of my shopping habits (you hear me, CVS?).

Author

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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