Breaking News: Apple Pay to Expand to Mobile Web

We knew this day would arrive, but we didn’t know it was coming so soon! Here is the big, big news for mobile: Apple Pay will be rolled out to mobile websites!

No longer confined to apps, Apple Pay reduces (drastically!) the effort required to make a purchase. With a mere fingerprint on your iOS phone, the transaction is completed without the hassle of entering the 16 digits, etc., of your credit card. Moreover, your credit card details are not shared when you use Apple Pay. Instead a one-time security code is sent to the merchant, resulting in a more secure transaction.

According to <re/code>’s inside sources, Apple plans to expand its easy online payment system to mobile websites in time for this year’s holiday shopping season. Although Apple has yet to announce the rollout, the news could be made public at Apple’s WWDC software developers conference in June.

Apple Pay could be a powerful factor in boosting the relative share of online purchases occurring on mobile. In 2016, an estimated 166 million Americans will shop on their smartphone, but not necessarily complete their transaction. Although the conversion rate on phones has risen, the Q1 2015 rate of 0.96% still lags significantly behind conversions accomplished on a PC (2.94%) or tablet (2.69%). Getting consumers to make the buy on mobile phones remains a challenge.

Meeting those challenges, Apple Pay addresses two barriers frequently mentioned by consumers – lack of security and easiness of paying. For example, survey data in Australia reveals over 35% of young consumers (age 18-29) express discomfort with the security of mobile payment systems.

ComScore details the other leading customer complaints about the mobile shopping experience, which include:

Can’t get a clear image of the product
Product information can’t easily be viewed
Slow load times

Fortunately, Mobile1st’s easy online mobile testing lab and cogent data analytics helps companies identify and remedy these critical issues in their mobile UX and performance. Together, Apple Pay and Mobile1st address 82% of the top obstacles to customer conversion on mobile.

Now thanks to Apple (and Mobile1st), retailers can expect an even greater boost to mobile sales during this year’s holiday retail season.

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Dan Engel

Dan specializes in the marketing and distribution of software products. Prior to being named SVP, Marketing in April, 2013, Dan wasFastSpring’s CEO from 2005-2013. Prior to co-founding FastSpring in 2005, he was with Google™, where he led online consumer acquisition for Google’s multi-billion dollar products, AdSense™ and AdWords™. Before Google, Dan was VP of Market Development at Picasa™, a digital photo software company acquired by Google in 2004. Dan led Picasa’s online marketing, sales, and business development initiatives, growing revenue by 7X. Today Picasa is a leading online photo destination with over 7 billion photos uploaded (exceeding Flickr) and 50 million unique monthly visitors.
Prior to Picasa, Dan marketed GoToMyPC® and GoToMeeting® software, generating over $25 million in revenue over 18 months, helping lead to a $225 million acquisition by Citrix Systems in 2003, and building what is today a leading online consumer brand. With profits of over $250 million annually , it has become one of a handful of web-based software companies that is worth more than $1 billion today. At 24, Dan was an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Idealab. Dan graduated from Tulane University with a BS in Management and a concentration in Finance. He is a member of YPO, a global organization for CEOs.