Apple is trying its best to make sure that iOS users are able to find the shopping apps they “need” all in one place.
Apple Pay is helping consumers and retailers alike
With the holiday soon to be upon us, Apple is making good on its promise and earlier reports by curating a number of mobile shopping apps in its own “shopping” category within the App Store. While most of these apps were already available to iPhone and iPad users, one needed to look in the “Lifestyle” section to find them and that took a fair bit of time before they appeared on the “next results” page or the “more results” page after that.
The shopping app won’t be limited to simply retailers and their apps but auction apps, product review apps, and omni-channel apps. No longer. Now that these apps have been taken out of the “lifestyle” section of the App Store, Apple will further divide these into “Save While You Shop,” which will offer deals, discounts, and other special features to visitors to the App Store. The other, “Shop for Everything,” will include apps from further distinctions , like “Chic,” “Dapper,” “Gifts,” “Rugged,” or “Groceries,” and a handful of other categories.
Apple isn’t all about helping customers and retailers
There is little question that Apple will use this new category to highlight the apps that allow users to use Apple Pay. Apple Pay allows iPhone and iPad users to enter and store their credit card and debit cards in a mobile wallet. Those cards can then simply be called on through Touch ID in retail stores that use NFC-based payment options and of course in mobile applications for iOS.
Apple’s simple touch checkout has pleased retailers as checkout time has been greatly decreased meaning more and more can get through line while stores are open each day.
Apple receives a small portion of every Apple Pay transaction and with online shopping potentially reaching $85 billion in sales for this holiday season, a transaction commission for Apple is just easy money for Apple if customers are using Apple Pay.
Additionally, mobile payments options including Apple Pay are expected to be a big part of Black Friday shopping in brick and mortar establishment and to a lesser extent through until’ after Christmas when more physical retailers offer huge discounts in-house.
