No, not Pokémon Go.
I’m talking about Walmart Pay, a new retailer-specific, digital payment service that lets Walmart app users purchase merchandise with nothing more than their smartphones.
That was fast.
As Daniel Eckert, senior VP of services for Walmart U.S. explained, the company hopes Walmart Pay will enhance the in-store shopping experience for customers:
“Walmart Pay is not a payment app for payment’s sake. It’s a way to build a digital relationship with the customer…The combination of assets that go into Walmart Pay make checkout more convenient, faster and fun.”
But, there remains a weighty question on many minds:
Will Walmart Pay actually pay off for Walmart?
It’ll naturally boil down to what customers think.
This week Field Agent enlisted 253 U.S. adults to use and review Walmart Pay. Most of these—90% in all—were first-time users of the digital service, and thus had to download the Walmart app and/or enroll in Walmart Pay prior to participating.
We instructed participants to visit their local Walmart to shop for and purchase one or more items using Walmart Pay. As images in this article suggest, these customers submitted screenshots of their smartphones at various junctures in the payment process. The screenshots also substantiate that every participant did, in fact, use Walmart Pay to make a purchase.
Immediately following the experiential portion of the study, participants answered a range of questions intended to gauge their attitudes toward the new payment method.
Below we offer the results as a quick-fire Q&A.
The overwhelming majority of participants found the Walmart Pay enrollment process remarkably easy. 55% said the process was extremely user-friendly and 34% very user-friendly. Only a combined 2% found enrollment only slightly or not at all user-friendly.
After using the digital service, participants were asked which they feel is better—Walmart Pay or paying by card—across three different dimensions:
Overall, all things considered, 3 of 4 customers said Walmart Pay is better than paying by card.
Impressive. Especially considering 90% were first-time Walmart Pay users.
See also: What Do Shoppers Think about Walmart's Superstore of the Future?
Because it involves their sensitive personal and financial information, no doubt safety and security—or at least the perception thereof—will play a role in the adoption and ultimate success or failure of Walmart Pay.
Almost half (49%) in our study responded they feel extremely or very safe and secure using Walmart Pay, while an additional 38% indicated they feel moderately safe/secure using it. Just 5% responded not at all safe/secure.
Altogether, 61% of customers in our study had contact with one or more Walmart associates about the digital payment service. Of these (n = 154), 24% found employees extremely knowledgeable, and 21% very knowledgeable, about Walmart Pay. However, 18% said employees were only slightly knowledgeable/helpful, and another 18% reported they were not at all knowledgeable/helpful.
Perhaps customers will use Walmart Pay only selectively—for instance, when lines are short (or long) or if they’re in a rush (or not)? Among participants who indicated some likelihood of using Walmart Pay in the future:
For some customers anyway, Walmart Pay may serve as a contingent form of payment rather than an exclusive method.
Walmart Pay also allows users to upload, manage, and use Walmart gift cards. But will customers make the most of this feature?
Of those at least slightly likely to use Walmart Pay in the future, more than half (58%) said, in the event they receive one or more Walmart gift cards, they’d be completely likely to use Walmart Pay to manage and use them. Another 26% would be very likely and only 2% not at all likely.
Field Agent asked customers to rate Walmart Pay on a 5-star scale, accounting for all considerations (e.g., ease of use, speed, safety/security).
In our study, customers awarded Walmart Pay 4 of 5 stars.
In our sample of 253 customers, including 227 first-time Walmart Pay users, a healthy 38% said they’re completely likely, and 28% very likely, to use the digital service in the future. That’s 66% demonstrating strong repeat intentions. And just 8% said they’re only slightly likely, and 8% not at all likely, to use Walmart Pay again. Some of these, indeed, may have showed low repeat intentions because they rarely or never shop at Walmart.
See also: The Omnichannel Scene: Inside 5 Innovative Retail Services
This may be the best news for Walmart.
Among all customers, 62% indicated they’re more likely to shop at Walmart after personally experiencing Walmart Pay, broken down as follows: 18% much more likely, 27% more likely, and 17% a little more likely.
In our survey, yes.
We asked participants whether they agreed with the statement: “Walmart Pay improves my perception of Walmart as an innovative retailer.” 29% completely agreed with the statement, 40% agreed, and 14% slightly agreed.
We ended the study by giving customers a chance to offer suggestions, in their own words, for improving the Walmart Pay service.
Many took the opportunity simply to praise the new service, like this 42-year-old man from Simpsonville, SC, who wrote, “Love it. It's lightning fast at checkout.”
Still others did offer suggestions or criticisms, including:
Results from this 253-customer study generally bode well for Walmart Pay—and perhaps other retailer-specific, digital payment services that might be on the horizon.
Our survey offers several favorable signs for the new digital service: customers say it’s easy to set up; they feel it’s an improvement over conventional payment methods; they mostly feel safe and secure using it; they are likely to use it again; and, they are—the majority of them—at least a little more inclined to shop at Walmart after using it.
How's that for a report card?
Want even more insight into cutting-edge retail innovation? Download the report, “Reimagining the Big Box,” to see the results from a mystery shop of Walmart’s superstore of the future and Target’s new Connected Living Experience department.