In mobile payments, iOS is king (mobilepaymentstoday.com)

As indicated by Starbucks’ recent app update, many companies are prioritizing iOS when it comes to mobile payments. While the installed base largely dictates such a decision, an iOS-first mindset also breeds a number of benefits. Not only do iPhone owners demonstrate the highest propensity to use mobile transaction services, they also spend more. 

Initially, the logic may seem flawed. In the U.S., 53 percent of mobile phone owners have an Android device, whereas just 31 percent own an iPhone. A look under the hood, however, reveals that consumers with Apple devices are the ideal audience for companies with mobile payment ambitions. Income aside  (over one in three iPhone owners earn upward of $75,000, whereas that figure drops to about one in four for Android), consumers on iOS are embracing mobile transaction services such as loyalty, couponing and payments to a greater extent than their Android counterparts. Our latest Yankee Group survey finds iPhone owners demonstrate:

• Higher usage: One in four iPhone owners that are interested in mobile transactions have made an in-store mobile payment in the last three months. For Android, that figure drops to fewer than one in five. Similarly, 6 percent more iPhone users have used mobile commerce and mobile coupons in the last three months as compared to Android users. We also find that 10 percent more iPhone owners than Android owners are using reward program apps to collect and redeem points. Without question, wallets lacking true iPhone support—such as Isis and Google—are missing out on the most engaged m-payments demographic. 
• Increased spend: The average ticket size for an iPhone owner making a proximity transaction is nearly double the size of an Android user (see graphic). It appears that Android users have limited themselves to purchases equating to a large latte, whereas Apple owners are using proximity payments for a broader range of transactions. On the mobile Web, the delta between both operating systems is notable but not as vast. The average iOS purchase weighs in at $32.12, 8 percent more than the typical $29.66 purchase for an Android user. 
• Greater demand: iPhone owners are showing the greatest demand for merchant-branded mobile payment solutions. Fifty-four percent of iOS users wish more stores offered mobile apps to collect and redeem loyalty points, compared to 43 percent of Android users. Similarly, mobile loyalty programs are more of a differentiator in the eyes of iPhone owners. Nearly half would choose to shop at a store that offered a mobile loyalty program over a store that does not, compared to 37 percent of Android users who would do the same. 

As the payments ecosystem aligns around mobility, it’s important to understand the differences that characterize potential users. Aside from demographic information such as income and education, drilling down into the behavioral and usage patterns of users on Android vs. iOS can reveal critical business information. For companies planning app releases and updates, we recommend taking time to investigate underlying user dynamics to ensure maximum profitability.