MOBILE WALLETS IN CHINA What You Need To Know August 2015
MOBILE WALLETS IN CHINA What You Need To KnowAugust 2015
In a recent study by Kantar Retail’s “Digital 3.0” report, mobile finance and payment is the3rd fastest growing activity on mobile phones in China at 28%, a rate not too far frommobile shopping (35%) and accessing videos/music (32%). But even without these figures,we can greatly see how Chinese consumers are using their mobile devices to pay foreveryday purchases from shopping, to grocery, to dining, to paying taxi fares, and evenexchanging money between family and friends as what has happened in the last SpringFestival where “virtual hongbaos” were reportedly sent and received more than 1 billiontimes on New Year’s eve- a 200 % increase versus last year!
These and other indicators that you will see in this report would imply that mobile walletsare indeed flourishing in China’s consumer payment landscape. Whether it is set tocompletely replace physical wallets, no one knows by this time. But before that happens,we have gathered relevant research to assess the current state and future potential ofmobile wallets in China that marketers should know- including the prominent wallet types,usage trends, key challenges and future prospects.
Please Enjoy!
Sources: 7 trends as e-commerce enters Digital 3.0 era (July 2015) ( http://cn-en.kantar.com/business/retail/2015/7-trends-as-e-commerce-enters-digital-30-era/)Red envelopes go digital in China (February 2015) (http://english.cntv.cn/2015/02/25/VIDE1424841481510398.shtml)
Shann Biglione
Head of Strategy
ZenithOptimedia Group China
Mark Opao
Associate Strategy Director
ZenithOptimedia Group China
Mollie Chen
Planning Supervisor
ZenithOptimedia Group China
Mobile Click
To Pay has
reached a
tipping point.
But are
marketers
ready for it?
MOBILE WALLET 101: THE MOBILE WALLET ECOSYSTEM IN CHINA
KEY TRENDS
CHALLENGES AND FUTURE PROSPECTS
SUMMARY AND POV
• MOBILE WALLET FORMS IN CHINA • WHAT MAKES CHINA MOBILE WALLETS DIFFERENT
FROM THE U.S.?
• TRANSACTIONS BOOM. AND IT’S JUST THE BEGINNING
• GROWING USER BASE WILLING TO DO MORE THAN PAYMENTS
• WECHAT: BLURRING THE LINES OF SOCIAL, SHOPPING AND GIFT
GIVING
• ALIPAY BECOMING SOCIAL?
• “DOUBLE 12” CAMPAIGN: DRIVING MORE USAGE AMONGST THE
ELDERLY
4 5
68 12
• GOVERNMENT AND TECHNOLOGICAL FACTORS MAY
STIFLE MOBILE WALLET DEVELOPMENT
• I-RESEARCH 2015 MOBILE PAYMENT OUTLOOK
• THE VISION OF “ONE ACCOUNT” IN THE FUTURE
• BRANDED MOBILE WALLETS: A POTENTIAL OPTION FOR MARKETERS
13 16
10
11
1517
3
4
Mobile Wallet
101: The Mobile
Wallet Ecosystem
in China
eMarketer generally defines the concept of mobile wallet as a “digital manifestation of a physical wallet on a
mobile device, where payment credentials, coupons, loyalty cards and even forms of identification can be
securely stored, managed and used.” Compared to other markets where payment and technology companies
dominate this service, third party and established e-commerce companies are shaping the way mobile wallets are
used in China.
Remote Only Omni Channel Wallets
Merchants
Technology
Companies
Financial
Institutions
Yifubao (Sunning Commerce Group)
Usage: financing, mobile top-ups, flight
ticket purchases, hotel bookings, lottery
ticket purchases, bill payments, mobile
shopping
Pro
vid
er
Wo Payment (China Unicom) Usage: mobile top-ups, train schedule and
ticket purchases, P2P remittances, lottery
ticket purchases, bill payments, group
purchases, mobile shopping, insurance
purchases
UnionPay Mobile PaymentsPing Yan Bank Yi WalletCMB Mobile Banking Usage: checking bank balances, mobile
top-ups, credit card repayments, lottery
tickets, Game / Q-coin refills, account
transfers, mobile consumption, traffic fine
payments, travel bookings
Alipay, Tenpay, China Mobile Hebao, China Unicom Mobile Phone Wallet
Usage: financing, taxi bookings, mobile phone top-
ups, lottery tickets, P2P payment and remittances, bill
payments, e-coupons, checking wallet balance, 2D
code payments, NFC payments, sonic wave
payments, mobile shopping
China CiITIC Bank’s Yiduzhifu, China GuandongDevelopment Bank Mobile Banking
Usage: financing, movie ticket purchases, P2P
payments, mobile phone top-ups, taxi bookings,
traffic fine payments, bill payments, eCoupons, 2D
code payments, NFC payments, mobile shopping
Forrester classified digital wallet providers in China into 3-types, namely Remote Only (wallets that can only be used
remotely) and Omni Channel Wallets (wallets that integrate mobile commerce, physical payments and financial
management in a single app).
Mobile Wallet Forms In China
4
Mobile Wallet
101: The Mobile
Wallet Ecosystem
in China (cont.)
Payment and commerce news site PYMNTS.com highlighted the key differences between US and China’s mobile
payment system- from the big difference in smart phone penetration down to the key players and business models.
What Makes China Mobile Wallets Different From The US?
China United States
Smartphone
Penetration
519.7 Million (as of 2014) 160+ Million
Key Players Dominated by major third party internet and
e-commerce companies (Alibaba, Tencent)
Dominated by payments and tech companies
(i.e. PayPal, Google)
Business Model Open platform approach (i.e. embed m-
payments on existing services- social,
banking, etc)
More fragmented and specialized (i.e. Operating
system specific like Apple Pay, Mobile wallet
networks like LevelUp (for QSRs) and TabbedOut
(for bars)
Growth Drivers Third party providers and provision of low-cost
smartphones by local manufacturers like
Xiaomi and Oppo
Driven mainly by the top players (Google Wallet,
PayPal), plus post Apple Pay launch
Forrester observes that China mobile wallets tend to adapt solutions of other vendors, whereas US mobile wallet
market is more balanced with a number of solutions for a specific purchase need. Nonetheless, mobile wallets in
China are already making people’s lives easier where you only need a few apps to cover almost all daily expenses.
Source: What’s So Different About China’s Mobile Payments’ Ecosystem? (January 2015) http://www.pymnts.com/in-depth/2015/whats-driving-chinas-mobile-pay-ecosystem/#.VcLZpvmHeFQ
Understand The Digital Wallets Landscape In China (June 2014) http://blogs.forrester.com/vanessa_zeng/14-06-24-understand_the_digital_wallets_landscape_in_china
Image taken from CKGSB Knowledge
5
Key Trends
Mobile phone payment services have long started in China since end 2007, but it’s only in recent years that it
experienced a “tipping point”. Based on I-Research’s Online Payment Study in 2015, transactions from third party
mobile wallets experienced a tremendous growth in the past 3 years, with sales value amounting to 6 trillion RMB by
end 2014 (391% Growth vs 2013). This also corroborated with the boom of mobile shopping, smartphone
penetration, and improvements to make mobile wallets a convenient payment option. Despite a weaker
forecasted growth in the succeeding years, transactions are ought to maintain a double-digit year on year growth.
By 2018, I-Research estimates that transactions from mobile wallets will be valued at 18.3 Trillion RMB- a 205%
increase from 2014.
Transactions Boom. And It’s Just The Beginning
Sources:
Iresearch China Online Payment Study 2015
Iresearch Yearly E-Commerce Data Release 2014 (chart lifted from ZenithOptimedia China Media Scene 2014)
0.1 0.21.2
6
9.1
12.2
15.2
18.3
36%89%
707%
391%
51% 34% 25% 20%
0%
100%
200%
300%
400%
500%
600%
700%
800%
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015e 2016e 2017e 2018e
Total Estimated Transactions(Trillion) YOY Growth
2011-2018 Transactions From 3rd Party Mobile Wallets (In Trillion
RMB)
12 69 274
930
1,809
2,835
3,728
4,504
426%
490%
297%
239%
95%57%
32% 21%0%
50%
100%
150%
200%
250%
300%
350%
400%
450%
500%
-
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
3,500
4,000
4,500
5,000
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015e 2016e 2017e 2018e
Total Transactions(Billion) YOY Growth
2011-2018 Transactions From Mobile Shopping Only (In Billion RMB)
This includes transactions from mobile shopping, mobile payment transfer, O2O payments, P2P, tc. but excludes payments processed by conventional banks and UnionPay
6
Key Trends Alipay clearly has the highest share of third party mobile wallet transactions at 82%, followed by Tenpay (including
WeChat Wallet) and Lakala. Much of their dominance can be attributed to the ease and coverage of payment
options available for the consumer using these providers. More developments keep on coming. For instance,
Alibaba is establishing a powerful mobile app ecosystem through acquisition, investment and alliance wherein
apps like including Sina Weibo, UC browser, Amap and Xiami Music, continuously draw huge traffic towards its
three shopping apps - Taobao, Tmall and Juhuasuan. Kantar Retail reports that mobile channels contributed 51% of
Alibaba's total GMV (Gross Merchandise Value).
Transactions Boom. And It’s Just The Beginning (cont.)
Sources:Iresearch China Online Payment Study 20157 trends as e-commerce enters Digital 3.0 era (July 2015) ( http://cn-en.kantar.com/business/retail/2015/7-trends-as-e-commerce-enters-digital-30-era/)
Remark: Tenpay data includes WeChat Wallet
Share of 3rd Party Mobile Wallet Providers 2014 (%)
Alipay, 82.3%
Tenpay, 10.6%
Lakala, 3.9%
Umpay, 0.6%
Bestpay, 0.4% China
Mob…
Ping'an Pay, 0.2%
99 bill, 0.2%
Qiandai, 0.2%Lilianpay,
0.1%Others,
1.3%
7
Key Trends As of June this year, CNNIC estimates that there are 276 million mobile payment users- a +35% vs previous year and
covers almost half of total mobile users (47%)
Growing User Base Is Willing To Do More Than Just Payments
Source: CNNIC, I-Research
Mobile payment users47%
593 Million mobile users
35% YOY
668 Million Internet users
8
9
%
276 Million
mobile payment users
57% are
males
50% belong to 26-
35 age group
On a separate study, I-Research further looked into the demographic composition of mobile payment users
Top 5 usage of mobile wallets include
online shopping, telecom fee, payment
transfer, tickets and F&B
94% 93% 92% 83% 74%
8
Key Trends The magnitude and importance of mobile wallet usage in China cannot be taken for granted. In fact, a recent
study by PwC Consulting in June shows higher preference on mobile phone payments than global average.
Growing User Base Is Willing To Do More Than Just Payments (cont.)
SourcePwC Consulting “Delivering on O2O: How Chinese Retailers Can Respond to the Blurring of “Online and Offline” (June 2015)
“Which of the following in-store technologies would make your shopping experience better?”
While global security is a main concern, the study shows that Chinese consumers are more willing to use mobile
wallets or store data on their phones than global average. The most striking differences were observed on “storing
payment and delivery information on a mobile app” (63% vs 33%-- double than global), “using mobile phone as
their main tool to purchase items” (55% vs 29%), and willingness to “receive offers or coupons via their mobile
phones” (79% vs 53%). These indicators show that consumers are willing to use their mobile wallets beyond a
straightforward transaction tool to a more multi-functional and rewarding shopping “partner”. Alipay has started to
recognize this when they introduced “Sesame Credit” early this year which provide users with incentives based on
their credit rating score in Alipay. For example, based on his / her credit rating score, a user can book a car or a
hotel without any guarantee deposit.
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Key Trends If there is one thing that China’s mobile wallet landscape stands out from any market in the world, it would be the
success it made by integrating messaging, social, e-commerce, mobile payments, and now- money gift giving- all
together in one app via WeChat.
As we know, WeChat introduced “My Wallet” in June 2014 that allows users to make payments with “pocket
money” without typing any passwords, as well as transfer money to their own WeChat contacts. I-Research
reported that by the end of 2014, WeChat Wallet had 119 million users- four times as compared to end 2013.
But WeChat really made a big buzz when they launched a “Virtual Hongbao” campaign during the 2015 Spring
Festival in partnership with CCTV Spring Gala Festival- the most watched TV show of the year. During the gala, users
were invited to shake their smartphones for a chance to win “digital” red envelopes (or hongbao) with randomly
allocated money or e-coupons. WeChat users in 185 countries shook a total of 11 billion times, with 810 million at
peak time, during the show. RMB500 million (roughly US$83m) worth of lucky money and e-coupons from
participating businesses such as JD.com, Huawei and Haier.
Meanwhile, WeChat’s money giving feature was also launched before Spring Festival, when Chinese people
traditionally gives lucky money to the younger generations- from parents to children, husband to wife, bosses to
employers, and also amongst friends.
It said was reported that around 200 million bank accounts were linked to WeChat over the 2015 Lunar New Year
holidays.
WeChat: Blurring The Lines Of Social, Shopping…and Gift Giving!
Sources:
Red envelopes go digital in China (February 2015) (http://english.cntv.cn/2015/02/25/VIDE1424841481510398.shtml)
http://technode.com/2015/02/27/wechat-payment-real-winner-tencent-alibaba-digital-lucky-money-war/
10
Key Trends Alibaba has just released a new version of Alipay last month, adding new Friends and Merchants tabs that provide
support for peer-to-peer payments and “Koubei” (a term for word-of-mouth reputation in Chinese). It was reported
that Alibaba and affiliate Ant Financial Services Group have invested 3 billion RMB in the service
These 2 new local services will feature recommendations and discount information among users while they can
share their likes and messages with their friends. The Merchants tab is the first entry access point for Koubei; users
can locate their choices of restaurants and shops in the Merchants tab by their nearest locations and by
recommendations.
Alipay Becoming Social?
Sources:Friends & Koubei http://www.nfcworld.com/2015/07/08/336511/alipay-9-launches-with-support-for-koubei-merchant-payments-and-p2p-transfers/
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Key Trends Given that mobile wallets are mostly appealing to millennials, Alibaba is also doing some efforts to broaden its
usage among older age groups. One example is the “Double 12” campaign they did last December. Instead of
duplicating Double 11 shopping festival on a different date, Alipay did a slightly different tactic by also focusing on
off-line retail sales
On December 12 (hence the name “Double 12”), lots of attractive offers and promotions were available when
consumers pay with Alipay offline, including restaurants, convenient shops, and supermarkets- all with the aim of
encouraging Chinese consumers (especially the elderly) to use their mobile wallets. Retailers even set out people
outside the supermarkets to help elderly smart phone users to set up mobile payment gateway at 5 RMB per set-up.
Shoppers received up to a 50% discount at over 20,000 physical stores across the country.
While the online sales side didn’t do so well compared to Double 11 Single’s Day, Alipay reportedly achieved tens
of millions of mobile app activation on Double 12. However, there is still a lot to improve as offline shoppers
complained on long queues, connection failures and slower transactions which even led to shoppers abandoning
the order as the offer only lasts on the same day.
“Double 12” Campaign: Driving More Usage Amongst The Elderly
Sources:
China Internet Watch: “Alipay’s Off-line Strategy Worked on Double 12 Shopping Day” (December 2014) (http://www.chinainternetwatch.com/11390/alipay-double-12-2014/#ixzz3i5sYStrQ)
Singles Day in December? Alibaba Proclaims Today “Double 12” (December 2014) http://www.channeladvisor.com/blog/?pn=industry-trends/singles-day-in-december-alibaba-proclaims-today-double-12-1212
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Challenges And
Future Prospects
As usage continuously grows, there are still challenges that China is facing on the full adoption of mobile wallets.
Just this month, the People’s Bank of China has moved to defend draft rules that would force online payment
processors to channel large payments through traditional bank accounts, The rules set a cap on payments by third-
party processors of RMB 5000 per client per day and RMB 200,000 per year. Larger payments must be routed
through the payer’s account at a commercial bank.
According to news articles, the policy was meant to safeguard citizens against fraud and money laundering.
However, it instead triggered a big concern amongst Chinese netizens with critics saying they could slow the
growth of online services that have sprung up to cater to people and small businesses historically ignored by banks.
The draft rules are open for public comment until August 28,2015
Meanwhile Alibaba and Tencent are attempting to move further into Chinese banks’ core activities. Alibaba has
already launched an online money market fund, Yu'E Bao, which offers attractive returns to Chinese savers. And
after receiving a banking license in June, Alibaba's finance affiliate launched a new online lender, MYBank, which
will make loans of up to ¥5 million to private individuals and small firms. This follows Tencent's creation of WeBank,
which began offering a commercial banking service in April. Both new operations are looking to take a slice of the
estimated ¥23 trillion household loans market that is growing fast as more Chinese borrowers look for credit.
Government And Technological Factors May Stifle Mobile Wallet Development
Sources:http://www.afr.com/markets/how-chinas-new-online-payment-limit-will-hit-alibabas-alipay-tencents-tenpay-20150805-gislhfhttp://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2015/08/72245-china-central-bank-defends-online-payment-rules-critics-see-rules-stifling-industry-innovation/http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/china-seeks-limit-size-online-payment-transactions-1513775http://www.wsj.com/articles/china-proposes-to-keep-online-payments-in-check-1438593958
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Challenges And
Future Prospects
Another issue faced by the industry is technology, particularly on the availability o Near Field Communications
(NFC) which requires a compatible mobile device or phone chip to make a transaction through wireless
technology.
China Mobile and China UnionPay first launched an NFC service and mobile wallet in 2012, integrating China
UnionPay's contactless payment QuickPass with China Mobile's mobile wallet services. However, because of
various problems like lack of mobile phone that can support the NFC-enable wallets, less compatible terminals and
less promotion for this new technology, till now, the low adoption of Quick Pass is not taking off. These problems also
resonated with Mintel’s 2014 Mobile Phone and Apps report which showed that while 10% of respondents already
frequently engage in NFC payments, almost 80% of consumers stated that there’s a need to have more locations
and terminals compatible with their mobile phones.
On a similar issue, Apple Pay is currently stuck in China due to tensions between Apple Pay’s own near-field
communication (NFC)—the technology that allows users to pay using contactless readers—and UnionPay’s control
of China’s only NFC-like system.
Apple is now finding a workaround—and a better strategy—by swapping NFC for QR codes, which Chinese
shoppers actually prefer over NFC. Apple said last year it was in talks with Alibaba on a mobile payment system
that uses QR codes, sparking rumors that Alipay might be Apple Pay’s ticket into China.
Government And Technological Factors May Stifle Mobile Wallet Development(cont.)
Sources:
Mintel Mobile Phone and Apps Study (February 2014)
http://www.totalpayments.org/2013/06/10/china-mobile-unionpay-announce-launch-nfc-payments-service/\
http://time.com/3714010/apple-pay-china/
14
Challenges And
Future Prospects
I-Research 2015 Mobile Payment Outlook
I-Research 2015 Mobile Payment Outlook
Source: http://www.iresearchchina.com/views/6299.html
Outlook Indications
Mobile payment usage
will expand to lower
tier cities
With increasing smartphone penetration, expansion of 4G networks and mobile
internet (estimated 730 million of towners and over 630 million of rural residents),
mobile payment is expected to extend further to lower tier cities by 2015.
It will be more like a
“real wallet”
In 2015,the key players- Alipay, Tenpay and Lakala will continue to seize the online
to offline trend with more retailers and services accepting mobile wallets. Code
sweeping payment will expand in offline earlier than NFC, but it is also expected that
NFC issues will be settled in the future. When Apple and Samsung finally penetrate
the ecosystem, mobile wallets will be fully embraced by consumers and will replace
physical wallets.
Small amounts but with
high frequency
The success from WeChat’s CNY “red envelope” campaign was a key factor in
acquiring non-users to the mobile wallet platform in a fun way and at a minimum
cost. I-Research reported that sales from WeChat Wallet had a 332.8% increase from
Q4 2013 to Q4 2014.
Mobile payment will
boost the mobile app
business
Growth of mobile payment user and development of in–app payment model will go
hand in hand with providing opportunities to expand mobile app business model and
development of in-app mobile payment enterprises.
It will be a marketing
analysis tool for
merchants.
The red envelope campaign drove B2C and Peer to Peer (P2P) transactions, as well
as allowing companies to give away cash coupon to WeChat and Alipay red
envelope users. which is reverse marketing initiated by users. It can then become a
merchant marketing analysis tool to obtain customer information.
15
Challenges And
Future Prospects
I-Research believes that with the development of digital payment and the account virtualization, the payment
system in China will have a unified criterion and the payment account will be simplified and unified among the
payment industry, even the whole society. At the same time in the future, the occasion and payment gateway will
be more complicated and diversified wherein in each occasion, consumers will have more than one option to pay
the bill. But the payment process will be made be simple and secure.
The Vision Of “One Account” In The Future
Sources:
Iresearch China Online Payment Study 2015
Company internal unification Industry unification Society unification
Financial Institution
E-commence
SNS
Government
Mobile operator
Third-party payment company
Now we are here
16
Challenges And
Future Prospects
Branded mobile wallets are mobile wallets exclusive to a particular merchant or brand which allows them to have
complete control over the customer experience usually via incentives, mobile coupons and integrated loyalty
programs. Branded mobile wallets are more common outside of China and ranks among the top mobile payment
apps ever used by Smartphone owners.
McDonald’s, Dunkin Donuts and Dairy Queen are just few of the brands that have joined the trend in other
countries. But one of the brands that’s successful in this area is Starbucks. Since the launch of its mobile wallet in
2011, it now has 6 million average weekly transactions in the U.S, accounting for 15% of transactions made from U.S.
Starbucks-operated stores. Apart from being a payment tool, it also enables users conveniently to earn Stars and
redeem rewards and find stores.
Branded Mobile Wallets: A Potential Option For Marketers
Sources: The Mobile Wallet: 6 Things Marketers Should Know (August 2015)http://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2014/06/13/why-is-the-starbucks-mobile-payments-app-so-successful/http://www.businessinsider.com/starbucks-mobile-payments-app-2014-9
Given the current domination of Alipay and Tenpay, branded mobile
wallets may be a challenge to succeed in China at the moment.
Instead of creating one from scratch, big brands such as KFC and
McDonald's have just started running pilot programs for mobile
payment in China through Alipay. Prior to that, Wal-Mart also started a
trial program for its 27 stores in Shenzhen with Alipay in May.
17
In Summary
Mobile wallets in China has reached a tipping point in 2012 and transactions from mobile wallets will continue to
grow year on year as usage increases over time, driven by mobile e-commerce and efforts made by third party
providers (mainly led by Alipay and Tenpay) to promote usage and widen payment coverage.
While China’s mobile wallet ecosystem may not be as fragmented compared to its western counterparts, Chinese
consumers show higher preference on mobile phone payments than global average and they are more disposed
to store information and receive incentives beyond a straightforward transaction.
Adoption of NFC technology and the pending payment cap regulation from the government are just two of the
key challenges that impedes the full benefits of mobile wallet adoption in China. But these don’t stop Alipay and
Tenpay from innovating in order to enhance the mobile wallet experience via new features and value-added
solutions.
In the future, industry sources believe that mobile wallets will continue to evolve from an optional payment tool to a
physical wallet replacement that can engage in multiple transactions using a single account. This will likely mean
greater chances to increase physical availability and impulse purchases for brands – as long as they have the
infrastructure in place.
18
19
POV Sooner or later, mobile wallets will become a norm rather than a trend in the way we do payments, online or offline. As long
as consumers are willing to use it and the providers keep on innovating, the biggest challenge for brands will be to have the
right infrastructures and organization in place. Alipay and Tencent are clearly leading the way in making mobile wallets
more acceptable in China by finding ways to integrate it in consumers’ normal mobile behavior- i.e. WeChat doing
payments, Alipay becoming more social, etc.
What is yet to be realized is how mobile wallets can add more value to marketers beyond just a payment method. As of
now only a handful of brands (usually the multinationals) with higher than average purchase frequency have seen its
potential- KFC, McDonald’s, Wal-Mart- but we have yet to see which of these companies could crack the true marketing
value of mobile wallets in China.
Creating a branded mobile wallet like Starbucks can be a potential option for marketers, but it will be very challenging in
China given the sheer dominance of third-party providers (mainly Alipay and Tencent) in this industry. Besides that, branded
mobile wallets are mostly used by a small base of customers whose high frequency of purchase justifies the behaviour. Even
if we target the so-called “loyalists”, this doesn’t stop them from using Alipay, Tenpay or WeChat to make payments. If
marketers would like to explore this route, the key is to provide compelling incentives and exclusive offers on top of a faster
and more convenient payment option. But the costs associated with these offer need to be offset by the gains generated
in terms of profits, not just sales.
We think that the bigger potential lies on how marketers can take a first-mover advantage to bridge a partnership with
existing third-party mobile wallets and leverage on their reach, scale and technology to enhance the shopping / dining
experience. It could be a combination of geo-targeted push notifications, mobile coupons, and rewards points. There will
also be increasing appeal in connecting paid and earned touchpoints to mobile wallet solutions, as long as the industry
defines standards consumers can feel familiar with.
The development of mobile wallets implies the compelling need for marketers to think beyond awareness and focus on a
broader brand experience up to purchase and post-purchase stages. A mobile phone being the most personal device a
consumer can own, brands will be offered the chance to dig deeper than ever into insights about their customers.