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Only 15% of smart watch owners use their watch to make a mobile payment

IoT research firm to present to discuss convergence between wearables and mobile payments at Wearable Technology Show, October 4-5

Parks Associates announced new research today showing only 19% of U.S. smartphone owners and 15% of smart watch owners have used a mobile payment app with their device. Analyst Chris Tweedt will discuss this IoT firm’s mobile payment and wearables research at the Wearable Technology Show this week in Santa Clara, California.

“Low merchant adoption is the main reason consumers do not use the technology. Adoption of a payment solution requires both merchant and consumer adoption,” Tweedt said. “Devices like the Apple Watch will be game changers for the future of e-payments for both payment providers and retailers.”

Parks Associates’ industry report Reassessing Mobile Payments: Duopoly or Oligarchy?, now available for purchase, shows only 10% of iPhone owners have used the Apple Pay solution. Among the iPhone 6 owners who haven’t used this mobile payment option, 63% said they don’t use it because their preferred merchant(s) didn’t support it as a payment option.

The IoT research firm notes in its industry report Leading Smart Watch Apps: Insights into Wearable Use Cases that 11% of U.S. broadband households now contain a smart watch, a trend driven by the introduction of the Apple Watch in 2015. One month after the Apple Watch’s release, Apple had a 36% share in the U.S. smart watch market, and it has driven the sales of other smart watch brands as well.

“Look for Apple to drive steep growth in mobile payments,” Tweedt said. “Apple has not yet advertised Apple Pay to consumers, but when it does, its loyal customer base and owners of other NFC solutions will want to make mobile payments in store. Visibility for these solutions will result in even more users and will drive more merchants to accept mobile payments, if they do not already.”

Tweedt will discuss the mobile payment market at Wearable Technology Show this week, focusing on new research on the future of e-payments, as well as new wearables disrupting the industry. He will chair the Wearable Disrupt track on October 4 and participate in the following sessions:

Tuesday, October 4
“Sensors & Flexible Electronics” - 2:20-2:50 p.m.
Tweedt joins speakers from Performance Lab Technologies, StretchSense, and Superflex to examine how new sensor technologies are opening new opportunities to create compelling and useful wearables.

“Collaboration – Key to the Future of Smart Textiles” - 2:50-3:20 p.m.
Tweedt joins speakers from North Carolina State University, Wearable Life Science, and ZSK Machines to address innovations in the area of smart textiles, including the accessibility and affordability of these technologies.

Wednesday, October 5
“IoT Connect & Apps Developers” Track
“Are Wearables the Future of Payments and Banking?” - 2:20-2:50 p.m.
Tweedt moderates a panel, featuring speakers from FitPay and Wells Fargo Bank, that looks at the future of e-payments and how devices like the Apple Watch will impact payment providers and retailers.

Parks Associates is supporting Wearable Technology Show, which features four shows in one and leading speakers from every area of connected technology. Registration is available at www.wtsusa.show.

For more information, visit www.ParksAssociates.com. To schedule a meeting with Chris Tweedt or request specific research data, contact Holly Sprague at hsprague@gmail.com or 720-987-6614.

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