Clothing and sports stores amongst biggest contactless winners

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Mar 1, 2018

Mobile and wearable payments are growing rapidly in the UK, as more shoppers choose contactless as a way to pay for their convenience and ease of use.

According to new data released by Barclaycard on Thursday, contactless spending has seen continued growth over the last 12 months, rising by 79% supported by mobile and wearable payments.

Barclaycard said the amount spent using its Android Contactless Mobile facility has increased 365%, while spending via bPay – a flexible payments chip that can be embedded into a variety of products such as watches and jewellery – jumped 129% over the period.

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Clothing and sporting goods retailers are some of the companies benefitting the most from the contactless revolution after sectors like passenger railways and car parks. Both clothing and sporting goods stores have seen an 85% increase in contactless spending, ahead of the 67% rise across department stores and 57% across the beauty sector.

The rise in contactless payments via mobile devices and wearables demonstrates customers are moving towards opting for a contactless payment method which best suits their needs.

“The surge in popularity of wearable and mobile payments creates exciting opportunities for shoppers and brands alike,” commented Adam Herson, Business Development Director, Barclaycard Mobile Payments.

“Consumers can now choose the type of accessory or device they want and match it to their lifestyle or fashion taste, all while enjoying the speed, ease and convenience that contactless brings.”

According to Barclaycard, contactless payments save on average seven second per transaction compared to Chip and PIN; and 15 seconds when compared to cash.

Additional research has found that ‘touch and go’ spending is set to rocket 317% cent by 2021, with contactless payments expected to save UK shoppers almost £1 billion worth of time over the same period.