The following is from a blog post by PayPal President David Marcus:
Last week, I posted about “losing our wallets” and the enormous opportunity in front of us to use technology to bring a new and better experience to consumers with regards to shopping and paying for things. But we wanted to go a step further. We wanted to know what people really thought about the prospect of ditching their wallets altogether. Today we released the proof that the majority of consumers worldwide really would like to do just that.
We conducted a global study in five large markets: the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and Germany. The results are in and strengthen the notion that carrying around your financial information, credit cards, and cash in a wallet is simply just a pain. At PayPal, we want to remove friction from the financial equation. So we asked 5000 consumers around the world where and when that happens.
Some of the anecdotal data was entertaining, such as… apparently no one wants sand in their wallets. In every market, the beach is the number one place people don’t want their wallets. Maybe you’d expect that in Australia, but in Germany or Northern Canada?
Overall, the data that came back showed that what people want most of all is to lose their wallets. In every country we surveyed, at least 3 of 4 respondents said they wished they didn’t have to carry their wallets around with them. A vast majority (83%) of respondents across five countries said they wished they didn’t have to carry a wallet. Additionally, nearly one in three Americans (29%) would choose a smartphone over a wallet if they could only bring one item when going out.
For more survey results, please read the full post over at the PayPal: Forward blog.