February 22, 2023
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Apple Pay. The mobile wallet designed especially for iPhone users, now not only can be used in-store via contactless, but also online using a Mac. Why is enabling this feature a good idea for your Shopify store?
Firstly, what is Apple Pay? Launched stateside in 2014, and later in 2015 for UK customers, Apple Pay allows iPhone users to pay in-store using NFC technology to complete the transaction. You can use this feature in coffee stores, to buy your weekly shopping or even on the London Underground. Why does this effect Shopify stores? Apple has now rolled out this feature for Mac users who have an iPhone 6 and above. This adds an entirely new way for customers to purchase goods from your Shopify store and also speeds both mobile and desktop checkout.
However, Apple Pay secures the transaction via thumbprint recognition, how is this possible on a mac? Whilst shopping using Safari on a Mac, users will receive a notification on their iPhone via Bluetooth to confirm the transaction using their thumbprint. After scanning the thumbprint, automatic confirmation is fed back to the vendor and the transaction is confirmed. Here are 5 reasons why Apple Pay is a great addition to your online store.
Adding Apple Pay to your Shopify store is without charge, as long as you are already using the following payment gateways; Shopify Payments, Stripe, FirstData, Payeezy, Authorize.net or CyberSource. You will also need to activate an SSL certificate on your store domain name. But passed these requirements, it is as easy as heading to the payments sections of your shop settings and enabling Apple Pay as a digital wallet. You can even accept Apple Pay through the Shopify POS system if you have a bricks-and-mortar store.
One of the bonuses of using the Apple Pay system it the high level of security surrounding payments. Although payments through Shopify are already secure, Apple Pay uses a tokenisation system that generates a specific code, meaning customers do not share their payment information with the vendor and every transaction is verified via a thumbprint eliminating common causes of fraud. Without an online wallet, paying for purchases online can be difficult and depending on your screen size near impossible. Something like the “Verified by Visa” screen can cancel a purchase due to it being too fiddly and often details are entered incorrectly.
Typing your home address, delivery address and payment details can be frustrating and often difficult on a small mobile keyboard. With Apple Pay, all details are stored in the digital wallet, meaning it is a simple button click to allow customers to purchase without updating their details. This excellent video from Hallway times the checkout process using Apple Pay versus traditional methods. For mobile users, using Apple Pay in comparison to filling out billing & postal addresses and entering payment information is a staggering 2min 8sec faster. For Mac vs other desktop users is 1min 21sec faster. In both tests, the entire Apple Pay checkout process takes only 30 seconds.
There can be many reasons as to why customers abandon a shopping cart. Rejoiner have written a handy survey that shows statistics of cart abandonment. 25% of people will abandon a cart if the website navigation is too complicated, 18% will abandon for excessive payment security checks and 17% will abandon checkout due to security and payment concerns. Using Apple Pay essentially eliminates 2 stages of the current Shopify checkout process. With card details and postal address stored, this drastically reduces the chances that customers will abandon their cart due to a poor mobile experience, loss of connection and even reduces customer service time handling incorrectly entered addresses or misplaced orders.
An estimated 48.07% of the UK public who own smartphones are iPhone users (accurate October 2016). By enabling this feature on your store, you are allowing a large number of your target market access to a smoother and more secure checkout. Even users browsing on Mac will have a seamless payment experience. In the UK, there is a higher than average mobile conversion rate (in comparison globally and with the US) which means your mobile experience matters to your customers, and a bad experience can damage a brand's credibility, halt returning custom and damage sales in the busy shopping season to come.
If you would like step by step guide on how to install Apple Pay on your Shopify Store, check here for a step by step guide.
