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GPS, Apple Pay, iAds: Retailers' future solution in mobile marketing?

Given the buzz around Apple Pay, Apple could decide to integrate iAds with the payment solution to help them catch on with merchants.

Originally, the minimum buy-in for iAds was too expensive and demanding, being set at $1 million. Retailers and brands had other multi-platform options, which they went for instead of iAds, but integrating them with Apple Pay could offer an appetizing solution. 

?Apple Pay is the first big move into true mobile payments,? said Jonathan Pirc, founder at Lab42, Chicago. ?The Starbucks debit card app lead the way, but Apple Pay is ushering in the next wave in consumer payment systems.  

?The question is whether Apple Pay will be a relatively closed system or if it will open the door for other mobile payment offerings,? he said. ?Our data shows that consumers know about Google Wallet, but many have not used it.  

?By making mobile payment more ubiquitous, Apple Pay may wind up jumpstarting Google's efforts as well. I think that in the end, Apple Pay is going to gain more traction as a Web-based mobile payment solution than as an in-store mobile payment offering.?

How it would work
To integrate itself in stores, Apple could potentially leverage Apple Pay and iAds together, which could put the latter back on the map using the incorporation of iBeacons and GPS. 

If retailers are integrated with Apple Pay, iAds could take consumers directly to product pages, which would enable consumers to make purchases more quickly.

?Starbucks has been a leader in mobile payments and loyalty,? said Dirk Rients, vice president of brand solutions at The Mobile Majority, Los Angeles. ?Apple is missing the loyalty piece. 

?In the future, I expect Apple will approach retailers and try to work with them in bringing revenue in-store,? he said. ?Using GPS, Apple Pay and iAds, retailers can drive consumers directly to their product pages.?

Leading to change
Forty-five percent of non-iPhone owners are willing to switch to iPhones to have access to Apple Pay, according to a recent Lab42 survey.

Respondents to the survey cited a few core benefits to the mobile payment solution that were among security and convenience. These benefits could lead consumers to male more purchases.

?I think that retailers and brands should definitely take note and look to adopt accepting payments via Apple Pay,? Mr. Pirc said. ?The results from the study show that people are ready and willing to start making mobile payments, and I believe that removing a few steps from the payment process will ultimately result in people making more purchases and abandoning fewer shopping carts.?

Perhaps the most forceful statistic of all, nearly one third of respondents are willing to switch banks to gain access to mobile payments.

Sixty-three percent have heard of Google Wallet, and among that group, just 32 percent have used it before.

The top three paces consumers would like to use mobile payments are grocery stores, retail stores and gas stations, and 35 percent of respondents anticipate they will start using mobile payments within the next six months.

?Apple Pay is the first big move into true mobile payments,? Mr. Pirc said. ?The Starbucks debit card app lead the way, but Apple Pay is ushering in the next wave in consumer payment systems.  

?The question is whether Apple Pay will be a relatively closed system or if it will open the door for other mobile payment offerings,? he said. ?Our data shows that consumers know about Google Wallet, but many have not used it.  

?By making mobile payment more ubiquitous, Apple Pay may wind up jumpstarting Google's efforts as well. I think that in the end, Apple Pay is going to gain more traction as a Web-based mobile payment solution than as an in-store mobile payment offering.?

This Lab42 survey was fielded among 500 smartphone users, ages 18 and up, in the U.S. from Oct. 10-11. 

Lab42 is a quantitative market research firm that aims to help businesses accomplish and prioritize their goals through targeted social media-based research.

Final Take
Caitlyn Bohannon is an editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer, New York