Among high-earning shoppers, 55 percent use digital payments to complete their transactions
After a slow start, consumers are increasingly using mobile wallets to pay for purchases both online and in-store.
That said, some demographics are using the technology more than others
Regardless of whether they are shopping in-person in brick-and-mortar stores, or are shopping online, consumers are turning to mobile wallets more often to complete their transactions.
That said, these digital apps and platforms such as Google Wallet, Apple Pay, and PayPal aren’t limited exclusively to transaction completion while shopping. They can also offer users with additional features for added convenience, such as holding digital tickets and copies of important documents such as drivers’ licences or even passports.
That said, this is appealing to some consumers more than others, and they appear to fall into certain specific demographic categories.
51 percent of US consumers overall said that they were interested in mobile wallets for storage
Among the participants in a recent PYMNTS Intelligence study called “tracking the Digital Payments Takeover: Can New Use Cases Drive Consumer Use of Digital Wallets?”, 51 percent said that they were either somewhat interested or very interested in using the storage features of mobile wallets. Unlike prior studies, this research also showed that the vast majority of baby boomers and seniors (78 percent) have little to no interest in this document storage feature.
That said, there is a demographic outside of age groups that is standing out as being notably heavier users of these apps for payments and document storage alike, high earners. Those who make at least $100,000 per year are more likely to be digital wallet users than those in lower income brackets. Among them 55 percent are already using this transaction method.
Of those in the middle-income bracket, that is, those earning between $50,000 and $100,000 per year, a slightly lower 51 percent are using them. That’s not far off, but there is a measurable difference.
Still, below that income range, interest in mobile wallets drops off significantly. Among the research respondents who earned under $50,000 per year, only 41 percent reported that they used digital tools to complete payment transactions or to store their documents and tickets.