STUDY: US millennials happy to pay more for a five-star mobile experience

Monday March 5 2018 – Cincinnati — Mobile commerce is set to become the luxury, five star shopping experience of the future, according to new research from Worldpay. Nevertheless, the U.S. is behind the rest of the world in the mobile app revolution, as a third (32 percent) of consumers still prefer to purchase items via a mobile browser compared to an app – higher than almost every other country surveyed.

Worldpay’s latest global report on mobile consumer spending, The Mobile Payment Journey, polled more than 16,000 people across 10 markets to discover their most recent mobile payment experience and spending habits, and to find the elusive secret of what makes a mobile shopper hit the pay button.

Key findings in the U.S. include:

• Thirty-seven percent of U.S. consumers would be happy to pay more for a product or service if the mobile shopping experience is better. This number rises to 44 percent among millennials (aged 18-24), who are twice as likely as older consumers (65+) are to reward brands that give them a “five-star” service.


• Although apps are the channel of choice for the 68 percent of consumers, competition for app space is fierce. U.S. consumers have on average seven apps downloaded onto their mobile device, compared to a global average of 10.


• Security concerns are the number one reason for smartphone basket abandonment. More than three quarters (77 percent) only download apps from brands and retailers that they trust.

The research suggests that as consumers become increasingly selective about the apps they choose to download; there is a rising demand for brands to offer a more luxury, personalised shopping service. And the rewards for brands that get the mobile experience right are tremendous. Nearly a third (33 percent) of respondents said that they spent more than $66 on their last purchase.

Shane Happach, Executive Vice President, Head of Global Enterprise eCommerce, at Worldpay, Inc. said: “The U.S. mCommerce market is booming, set to double in size within five years¹ ; but it is also among the most demanding. Consumers are reluctant to download new apps, and quick to axe those that don’t prove valuable, meaning it is no longer enough for brands to develop an app for purely functional purposes.”

“Our research reveals that security concerns are the number one reason for smartphone basket abandonment in the US. Merchants can help to mitigate shoppers’ security fears by providing a mobile payment experience that’s quick, seamless and familiar. This might mean implementing the latest in biometric technology, such as fingerprint scanning and facial recognition, as an extra layer of security, and prioritising healthy user ratings on the app store.”

“Online merchants that can deliver the right experience have much to gain, as shoppers are making bigger, more valuable purchases via their smartphones and are even happy to spend more with merchants that deliver a better experience. The beauty of technology advancements means that there are more opportunities for virtual assistants and connected devices to make consumers’ lives easier. Brands that focus on offering consumers a five-star personal shopping service from their pockets, and an increasingly invisible checkout process, will see fewer abandoned baskets, more app downloads, and increased sales of more valuable goods and services.”

About the data
The research was compiled in partnership with Opinium and interviewed interviewed 16,000 consumers who have purchased goods on their mobile in the last 3 months in Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, India, Japan, South Korea, the U.S. and UK. Reports are available at: http://www.mobilepaymentjourney.worldpay.com

About Worldpay
Worldpay, Inc. (NYSE: WP; LSE: WPY) is a leading payments technology company with unique capability to power global integrated omni-commerce. With industry-leading scale and an unmatched integrated technology platform, Worldpay offers clients a comprehensive suite of products and services globally, delivered through a single provider.
Worldpay processes over 40 billion transactions annually through more than 300 payment types across 146 countries and 126 currencies. The company’s growth strategy includes expanding into high-growth markets, verticals and customer segments, including global eCommerce, Integrated Payments and B2B.
Worldpay, Inc. was formed in 2018 through the combination of the No. 1 merchant acquirers in the U.S. and the U.K. Worldpay, Inc. trades on the New York Stock Exchange as “WP” and the London Stock Exchange as “WPY.”
Visit us at www.worldpay.com/global

For more information, please contact:
Adam Kiefaber, Leader of Communications : Adam.Kiefaber@worldpay.com – (513) 900-5097
Ian Wissman, Corporate Communications : Ian.Wissman@worldpay.com – (513) 900-5897

¹Worldpay Global Payments Report 2017