Apple Watch Users Embracing Apple Pay for Everyday Purchases

Apple Pay on iPhone is a convenient and secure way to make payments without taking a debit or credit card out of your wallet, but you still need to take the smartphone out of your pocket to make a purchase. For that reason, Apple Pay has proven more transformative on Apple Watch, since the device is worn on the wrist and readily available for contactless payments.

The latest data from research firm Wristly supports that notion, with 80% of the over 1,000 respondents surveyed in the U.S. and U.K. claiming they have used Apple Pay on an Apple Watch at least once. The remaining 20% of respondents indicated they "do not perceive a benefit" to Apple Pay, have security concerns or believe their payment needs are already being met.

Wristly Apple Pay First Use
Just over half (51%) of respondents described using Apple Pay on the Apple Watch as "magical," an adjective often used by late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, while 42% indicated that the service is "convenient." An additional 3% of respondents said Apple Pay is "good," but with some areas of concern, and the remaining 4% of users found Apple Pay "not that useful."

Given the choice, 79% of respondents preferred to use Apple Pay on the Apple Watch and 9% preferred to use the mobile payments service on an iPhone. The survey panel most commonly used Apple Pay for everyday shopping (81%), in addition to recurring services such as Starbucks (60%), bigger purchases (35%), in-app purchases (29%) and other purchases (11%)…

Wristly Apple Pay Preference
Wristly's sixteenth weekly Apple Watch Insider's Report [PDF] details other statistics and usage cases for Apple Pay on Apple Watch, including brand impact, purchase frequency, average number of debit and credit cards set up, agree statements and more.

Wristly previously shared Apple Watch customer satisfaction data, cited by Apple CEO Tim Cook during the company's most recent quarterly earnings call, and health and fitness data that showed healthy lifestyle changes among early adopters.

Apple Watch users interested in joining Wristly's panel can sign up on the firm's website.

Related Roundups: Apple Watch 10, Apple Pay
Tag: Wristly
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Neutral)

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
maxresdefault

Apple Releases iOS 18.4 With Priority Notifications, Ambient Music, New Emoji and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:03 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4, the fourth major updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating system updates that came out last year. iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 come two months after Apple released iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to...
top stories 2025 03 29

Top Stories: WWDC 2025 Announced, iPhone 17 Pro and iOS 19 Rumors, and More

Saturday March 29, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
Apple's big developer event is a little over two months away, and rumors about what we can expect to see in Apple's next major operating system updates are becoming increasingly frequent. A public release of iOS 18.4 is also imminent with a number of updates and improvements, although we won't be getting the major Apple Intelligence Siri upgrades that had reportedly been planned for this...
Magic Mouse Green

What to Expect From the Magic Mouse 3

Saturday March 29, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Apple is reportedly working on a new Magic Mouse. Below, we recap what to expect. The two key rumors for the Magic Mouse 3 so far include a relocated charging port, along with a more ergonomic design. It was briefly rumored that the Magic Mouse 3 would also feature voice control, but that was misinterpreted information. Relocated Charging Port While the Magic Mouse switched from...
iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Expected Next Week - Here Are the Release Notes

Friday March 28, 2025 2:01 pm PDT by
With the second release candidate of iOS 18.4 that Apple seeded out today, the company finally provided us with release notes that give a full rundown on what to expect. There's an Apple Vision Pro app, new Apple Intelligence features for notifications and additional language support, plus an Apple News Food feature for Apple News+ subscribers, and several updates that should improve the...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

Six Things to Know About Apple's Upcoming Foldable iPhone

Friday March 28, 2025 3:54 pm PDT by
We've been hearing rumors about a foldable iPhone for almost a decade now, but it looks like we might finally see the device come to fruition in 2026. We're going to be waiting many more months for the foldable iPhone, but so far we're hearing good things. Apple wants to make it creaseless. It's taken Apple multiple years to design a foldable iPhone that it's satisfied with because Apple ...
iOS 19 visionOS UI Elements

Apple Codename Provides Clue About iOS 19's Rumored New Design

Sunday March 30, 2025 6:40 am PDT by
Multiple sources have claimed that iOS 19 will introduce a new design with more translucent buttons, menus, notification banners, and more, and there is now another clue that points towards this glass-like appearance. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said the new design project is codenamed "Solarium" internally. A solarium is a room with glass walls that allow in plenty of sunlight, so this...
macOS Sequoia Feature

Apple Releases macOS Sequoia 15.4 With Mail Categorization and More

Monday March 31, 2025 10:04 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.4, the fourth major update to the macOS Sequoia operating system that launched in September. macOS Sequoia 15.4 comes two months after the launch of macOS Sequoia 15.3. Mac users can download the ‌‌macOS Sequoia‌‌ update through the Software Update section of System Settings. It is available for free on all Macs able to run macOS 15. With...

Top Rated Comments

bbeagle Avatar
126 months ago
Society is getting lazier and lazier. Too much effort with a wallet eh? Sheesh.
So anything convenient is lazy?

I guess Remote controls are just for lazy people?
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
patjem Avatar
126 months ago
It's not exactly payment but I stayed in Brussels last weekend at a SPG hotel that allowed me to open the hotel door with Apple Watch. A great experience http://verkeersbureaus.info/contributors/2015/08/18/67020-met-apple-watch-je-hotelkamer-openen/
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
friedmud Avatar
126 months ago
You gotta draw the line somewhere. Seen the movie Wall-E yet? Once everything becomes convenient as you say, we will be doing next to nothing. Just sayin'
Wall-E is satire... Not a foretelling!

Since I got the watch I've used Apple Pay (and Starbucks and movie tickets and plane tickets) on it everywhere I can.

I've also lost 20 pounds, using the activity rings to motivate me.

Is it possible that convenience gives us more time to do the things we want (like exercise, spending time with family, playing with the dog, going on an evening walk) rather than the things we have to do (like paying for stuff)?

Nah - convenience must be all about just making us fat and lazy /s
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Roller Avatar
126 months ago
Apple Pay on the watch is very convenient. Unfortunately, not enough retailers accept Apple Pay yet.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Rogifan Avatar
126 months ago
I concur with this. Easy to use and it's never not worked for me. Now we just need Pay in more locations.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
RichTF Avatar
126 months ago
I have been behind a few people trying to use Apple Pay on their watch and it certainly isn't convenient for me to watch them make several attempts before pulling out their wallets and paying in cash.
And yet I've never had it fail once. Interesting. :rolleyes:
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)