How Apple Pay Revolutionizes Online Conversions

Apple appears to have pulled off a masterstroke, combining existing technologies and principles in an innovative and very consumer friendly way, tackling the trust issue at the same time.

This won't happen overnight as retailers now have to adopt additional payment methods on their websites in order to see the corresponding increase in conversion rates. Research shows that using alternative payments will more than double smartphone conversion rates, which is compelling data that encourages retailers to examine the alternative payment landscape.

Providing a raft of different payment types makes no sense — too much choice confuses users and clutters the page, taking focus away from the call to action. By basing payment choices on the operating system of the device, the user experience can be simplified dramatically. That means that Apple users have Apple Pay, and Android users get Google Wallet, both offering very simple checkout processes leveraging iTunes and PlayStore accounts respectively.

It's a brave new world in payments, and you probably sense a changing of the guard. There's significant opportunity here for retailers and brands. When bank robber Willie Sutton was asked why he robbed banks, he replied "because that's where the money is." Like Willie, retailers need to focus on where the money is. If users are spending their time on mobile, that's where the conversion needs to take place.

Charles Nicholls is chief strategy officer of SeeWhy, a real-time remarketing company.