New figures from PayPal show a steep trajectory in the number of consumers turning to their mobiles to make payments.
PayPal Australia told this week’s Online Retailer Conference it is now processing more than 1000 transactions an hour from mobile phones.
In March, PayPal released its first data on mCommerce in Australia, revealing that the total value of mobile transactions processed via PayPal Australia had hit $42 million in 2010. Based on the rapidly increasing number of transaction being made on mobile devices, PayPal has this week revised that forecast, now expecting the value of mobile payments in Australia to more than quadruple this year.
As online retail continues to enjoy healthy growth, the explosion of smartphones in Australia has led to staggering growth in mobile payments and PayPal is experiencing a growth rate of 430 per cent year on year, as mCommerce comes out of its start-up phase and moves towards maturity.
Frerk-Malte Feller, MD of PayPal Australia, said mobile commerce has undoubtedly hit the mainstream.
“In the last six months alone we have seen 2000 of our merchant partners accept their first mobile payment. Mobile provides a win-win opportunity; consumers have the tools to make smarter more convenient purchasing decisions, whilst retailers have the opportunity to take advantage of phones features to deeply engage customers and drive incremental sales.
“The importance of a secure and convenient payment option is amplified when consumers are shopping on the go and we work closely with our partners to provide a best in class mobile payment solution to drive sales conversion,” said Feller.
Group buying and daily deal sites, closely followed by the events and ticketing sector are leading the way in mCommerce with the ‘buy it now’ nature of their offerings well suited to attracting sales from consumers on the move. PayPal has partnered with three of Australia’s top group and daily deals sites, Cudo, Groupon and Spreets, giving its 4 million active account holders end-to-end mobile optimised solutions to these popular sites.
Cudo CEO Billy Tucker said his company had recorded a 20 per cent increase in mobile transactions since adding PayPal to its mobile site.
An early innovator in mobile payments is Event Cinema which launched its PocketCinema application in March. PocketCinema enables customers to use geo- location technologies to locate the nearest cinema before being taken on a journey from seat selection through to transaction with PayPal, selling additional services, such as snacks, along the way. Since launching PocketCinema in March, the app is downloaded at a rate of over 30,000 times per month enabling Event Cinema to take advantage of the unique capabilities of mobile to effectively engage with customers wherever they are.
Said Feller: “With mobile, transactions are no longer just taking place online or in the retail environment. Consumers are changing the way they make purchasing decisions, whether they are using geo-location facilities to find their nearest shop, or opening an app to find local discounts. There are huge opportunities to take advantage of this changing consumer behavior and retailers that can provide true consumer benefit along with an enhanced experience will reap big rewards.
“PayPal is working with a number of retailers to enable a smooth and secure mobile experience, from events and tickets, to fashion, to wine, to charities, the number of both traditional and non-traditional retailers capitalising on mobile is growing. However, whilst there are already many innovative solutions in the market, we are really still at the tip of the iceberg and as smartphone adoption continues to increase and more retailers begin to offer mobile solutions, we expect this pace of growth to continue over the next year.”
