PayPal Is the Favourite Bank App

The holiday season has come and gone so it is time to look back at a major talking point from the season. In this article we will focus in on consumers' preferred payment solutions.

A survey conducted by Retale showed that shoppers prefer to use PayPal when shopping in-store. The survey covered over 1,000 respondents and 50% said they prefer PayPal for their purchases. Completing the top 4 are individual bank mobile payment apps, Apple Pay and Android Pay with 27%, 20% and 17% of respondents respectively saying they use them.

The figures are very close to results from a similar survey in 2014 underlining the impact of PayPal on business relationships. Experts say the widespread fragmentation of payment solutions and PayPal's legacy could be the reason why PayPal has remained a favourite amongst shoppers.

Why has PayPal remained top dog despite dozens of other payment solutions emerging?

Customer loyalty
Most users of PayPal have not had any reasons in the past to regret using it as their default payment solution. It is therefore not surprising that they have remained loyal to the brand. PayPal has worked efficiently for years, leaving very little room for improvement. This has ensured customers do not really need to look elsewhere.

Safety and protection
PayPal's buyer protection feature is one of the main reasons why it is a favourite for shoppers. It gives them the peace of mind that comes with knowing they can request a refund if they are not happy with items purchased.

Ease of use
Many of the new payment solutions like Apple Pay, Android Pay etc. all focus on ease of use during in-store purchases but PayPal offers similar convenience. During in-store purchases, users don't need to use their cards. The PayPal app can be used as a wallet just as most mobile payment options work. Details are kept safe and secure as transactions are communicated across PayPal's secure servers.

Wider acceptance
In many stores, mobile payment solutions like Apple and Android Pay have not been adopted. Even banking apps and other contactless payment solutions are not widely supported. PayPal, on the other hand, is more uniformly accepted, reducing the need for customers to have more than one mobile payment solution for their shopping needs.
Wider application

Apart from being used for payments in-store and online, users can also receive payments, send money to others and buy and sell on e-commerce platforms like eBay with ease. Many new web publishers rely on it as a means of accepting payments. Using PayPal in any of these ways is straightforward even when dealing with overseas retailers, and currency conversions are automatic.

What are other things we learnt from the shopping habits of spenders?

Although there hasn't been much change in preference for mobile payment solutions outside PayPal, the survey shows that there has been some growth in the use of mobiles for payment. The number of people that have used a mobile device to make an in-store purchase grew 7% from 2014 figures to climb to 43%.

Similarly, the number of people that expressed interest in using a mobile device to pay for a gift or other such items in a retail store over the holiday period grew from 56% in 2014 to 61% in 2015. 63% of respondents also said retailers should offer some form of mobile payment option in-store at the checkouts.

There is a possibility of increases in growth for mobile payment usage in future as 83% of respondents say that mobile payment systems are convenient. This highlights the rise in the number of shoppers that have become familiar with mobile payment solutions.

However, respondents expressed concerns regarding mobile in-store payments. 59% named data breaches and privacy concerns as their fears for mobile in-store payments, whilst 55% mentioned possible theft or loss of their mobile device as major concerns. This, perhaps, is part of the reason why many have stuck with PayPal and their proven methods of securing customer funds.

References
http://www.newpaypalbingo.com/
http://www.retale.com/corporate/survey-61-of-shoppers-want-to-use-mobile-pay-this-holiday-season-up-from-56-last-year/
http://paymentweek.com/2015-12-15-retale-survey-61-percent-of-shoppers-want-to-use-mobile-payments-9142/