Apple leads the way with iPad then iPhone, although Android expected to take the lead in second quarter 2015.
Mobile payments are now responsible for over one quarter of online transactions, new data shows. The latest index from global payments technology company, Adyen, reveals a surge in mobile payment share of online transactions, marking the first time mobile payments have accounted for more than a quarter of global online payments since Adyen started publishing its Mobile Payments Index in June 2013.
The quarterly Mobile Payments Index, which tracks mobile payment data from web-based transactions across Adyen’s customer base, shows that in the fourth quarter of 2014, 25.8% of global online transactions took place on a mobile device, which is 11% higher than in the third quarter 2014 (23.3%), and 37% higher than in the fourth quarter 2013 (18.8%).
December showed the highest proportion of mobile payments at 26.6%, followed closely by November at 26.1%. This end of year spike suggests that shoppers are more likely to make purchases on mobile as the global peak shopping period hits in November (Single’s Day in China, Black Friday and Cyber Monday in the US and globally), and December (the Christmas shopping period).
In the battle of the brands, the iPad maintained a slight lead at 34% of mobile transactions, with the iPhone at 32.3%, and Android phones at 25.3%. This is dramatically different from one year earlier in the fourth quarter of 2013, 2013, when more than 40% of mobile transactions were on iPad, compared to 32% on iPhone, and just 20% on Android phones.
If the current trends persist, Android may surpass the iPhone and iPad in the latter half of this year and the iPad is likely to lose its lead over the iPhone in the near future, predicted Adyen. However, tablet transaction volume is still growing overall, with 10.8% of global online transactions in the fourth quarter on tablets compared to 10% in the third quarter.
Smartphones continued to pull away from tablets as the preferred mobile device, with 58% of mobile transactions made on smartphones and 42% on tablets. This continues the trend from previous quarters; in the fourth quarter 2013, the split was approximately 53% on smartphone versus 47% on tablet. This surge correlates with a global trend toward larger screens on smartphones.
“Across all industries including retail, gaming, ticketing, and of course digital goods, we see the emergence of successful businesses offering a mobile-only experience. For many companies, mobile is now the primary sales channel, rather than simply a key sales channel, aided by the accelerated growth of mobile payments globally in the last quarter of 2014,” said Roelant Prins, chief commercial officer, Adyen. “A ‘mobile-first’ strategy is becoming a reality for more businesses as we move into Q1 2015.”
Similar to findings from previous Mobile Payments Indexes, smartphone transactions accounted for about 20% of all online transaction for digital goods (including games, services like club memberships, hotel reservations, and tickets), and tablet transactions accounted for just 7%. Retail goods (such as clothing, furniture, appliances, groceries) are reversed, with smartphones accounting for less than 10% of retail purchases, and tablets accounting for 19% of purchases. This indicates shoppers still prefer to buy physical products on tablets, but gravitate to smartphones for online services.
