6% of iPhone 6 owners have used Apple Pay in stores, 85% have not - study

According to market research firm InfoScout, aside from the six percent who used or continue to use Apples iPhone-based NFC payment solution, 85% of iPhone 6 owners have not even played with the service. Another 9% said they experimented with Apple Pay, but forgot how to use it when making a purchase or didnt know where it was accepted.

Statistics were based on a three-day survey taken throughout one week involving 1,188 participants. It was not made clear whether data includes adoption statistics for Apple Pays in-app payment functionality, available on iPhone 6, iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3, but the reports language suggests only information regarding in-store transactions was counted.

The source points out that there is a current hardware limitation to Apple Pays growth model. Apple is addressing this concern in part with Apple Watch. When the device debuts in April, it will not only serve as a client-side Apple Pay terminal for iPhone 6, but also as a go-between for Apple devices that lack NFC chips, like iPhone 5, 5s and 5c.

Perhaps more important than hardware availability is customer loyalty. The study has found that 30% of respondents who already use Apple Pay base their shopping choices on whether a store supports Apples service. If the number of consumers actively seeking out Apple Pay-compatible locations grows, retailers may feel pressure to jump on board, thus expanding the services footprint.

In addition, survey participants shrugged off recent media reports of security concerns and most hold a view that Apple Pay is easy to use and safe, the report said.

Apple is slowly adding to a running list of merchants that support Apple Pay and recently announced 14 new partners including Jamba Juice and Office Max, making it more enticing for those who have yet to adopt.

Additionally, the number of financial institutions participating in Apple Pay is steadily increasing. Apple has recently added another 39 banks and credit unions, bringing the total to almost 150 partners across the US, with another 700 awaiting authorization.