A new survey from the phone insurance provider Loveit Coverit found that over a third of people in the UK do not track their own mobile spending habits. It including data on people’s preferred mobile payment options, as well as their frequency of use, emotional state, and tracking of online payments.
How & Why People Spend Online
The study is part of a larger project about the impact of mobile devices on e-commerce. This initiative has Loveit Coverit collaborating with psychologists, retailers, and industry experts to explore topics such as the rise of mobile shopping, the security of it, and the psychological impact of mobile payment.
Revealing that contactless card payment was the most used transaction method, which was selected by 36.4 percent of respondents. Followed by chip and pin card payments, which accounted for 32.4 percent of British who indicated that this. Finally, payments made online through mobile apps such as Apple Pay were only selected by 4 percent of people as their most commonly used payment method. Out of these mobile payments, food and drink accounted for 30.4 percent of payments, which as followed by clothes at 21 percent. In third was transport at 12.4 percent.
The research also found that there is a spike in mobile payments during the evening. Respondents said that 30.4 percent of them make their mobile payments at night. Lunch breaks and during a commute are also popular times, with 15.6 percent and 9.6 percent respectively.
Though British consumers make a lot of mobile purchases, many don’t keep track of their spending. According to the website MoneyPug, which is a platform to find mobile phone insurance, 30.7 percent prefer using mobile banking apps and 24 percent like using browsers. Only 1.59 percent keep up on their finances by going to a bank. The survey showed that the majority of people bank with major banks like HSBC.
Some attribute this lack of oversight to the phenomenon of “emotional spending.” Revealing that 9.4 percent of respondents admitted to making mobile purchases when they’re bored, 7.5 percent said they make purchases when they’re stressed. Some people don’t make mobile payments at all, but these people usually don’t have a smart phone.
Where People are Spending
While this research project relied on Fintech company iZettle, who is credited for revolutionizing mobile payments with the mini chip card reader, people are using other apps for making payments.
The majority of people are using apps like Venmo, Paypal, and more because they offer many features, but as the research shows, people aren’t paying much attention to tracking their payment history. These apps also enable people to pay in stores and to people directly, which makes it easy to spend. Some apps also have fees and payment limits. Still, you can pay from your smart watch or any other device, making it easy to spend money. In addition, some apps offer international support and secure, encrypted versions of your credit card number.
The majority of mobile spending apps provide a decent level of security, which allows people to feel comfortable about where they purchase items and how much they spend. A zero-liability policy for credit fraud provides the peace of mind that you won’t have to pay anything if your information is compromised. All of this has contributed to the lack of tracking on mobile payments.
What it Means
The sum of convenience, relative security, and phenomenon of emotional spending has led to increased mobile spending and decreased oversight on where people are spending, how much they spend there, and how often they make these payments.
While this level of spending stimulates the economy, it also leaves consumers with less money in their pockets and bank accounts. As the world changes and spending goes completely digital, we will grapple with how to control our spending and monitor our transactions online. Spending money has never been easier, and it shows in the rates that we are buying new things.
But as awareness about this spreads, people will begin to pay more attention and focus on how they are spending. Only time will tell if this awareness will last and if it will effectively alter our behavior.
