One in four US consumers ready to buy groceries with NFC phones

The level of positive responses to a new survey of US consumer attitudes to NFC mobile payments represents a “significant volume… beyond the level we’d call early adopters”, says Compete.

Compete.com
SURVEY: Americans are ready for NFC

One in four Americans is already prepared to pay for groceries using their mobile phone instead of a debit or credit card, despite a continuing fear over the security of mobile phone payments, new research has revealed.

Meanwhile, one in five consumers said they would be likely to pay for clothes, phone charges, and coffee with their phone instead of a card, while 20% would use their phone to redeem coupons.

Figure 1. Source: Compete
FIG 1: How likely would consumers be to use mobile phones to pay for goods? Click to enlarge

These figures, according to the survey by online market research specialist Compete, represent a “significant volume of consumers; beyond the level we’d call early adopters.”

Among the findings of its its Q1 2011 Smartphone Intelligence Survey, Compete also found:

  • More than 51% of respondents reported using their phones for mobile banking, up from 40% in the third quarter of 2010.
  • 45% of smartphone owners used their phones to view their bank account status.

Simple preferences and fears over security were the main drawbacks for those who were not interested in using their phones for payments. Other responses included concerns over hidden fees, worries about excessive battery use and a preference for using cash.

Specifically, 58% responded that they preferred to only use their mobile phone for communication (calls, email, or text) while 56% indicated they were concerned with the security of using their phone for payments and 52% were concerned about security if they lost their phone.

Figure 2. Source: Compete
FIG 2: Why are consumers not interested in using phones to replace cards? Click to enlarge

“Providing consumers with enough incentive to gain experience with the technology as well as increasing messaging about the security of mobile payments will be two key areas to address in order to encourage further adoption,” says Compete.

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