Apple Pay Responsible for 1% of Digital Payment Dollars in November, Most Popular at Whole Foods

Apple Pay is seeing impressive early adoption numbers according to a new ITG Investment Research Report on Mobile Payments (via MarketWatch), which suggests Apple's new payment service was responsible for a total of 1 percent of digital payment dollars during the month of November.

Apple still trails industry leaders like Square and PayPal, which captured 18 and 78 percent of digital payment dollars in November, respectively, but ITG analysts suggest Apple Pay is showing strong momentum given that it's available only to customers with the newest hardware and supported by a limited number of merchants.

applepaytouchid
According to the report, which uses data from ITG's Investment Research consumer panel, 60 percent of new Apple Pay customers used the service on multiple days throughout November, averaging 1.4 use times per week. In comparison, only 20 percent of new PayPal customers used the service multiple times during the same time period.

Among customers who used Apple Pay, Whole Foods was the location where the service was used most, capturing 20 percent of all Apple Pay transactions. Walgreens came in second, with 19 percent of transactions, and McDonald's was third, with 11 percent of transactions. Whole Foods was also saw the highest spending, responsible for 28 percent of all Apple Pay dollars spent.

Available since October 20, Apple Pay is accepted at several of Apple's partner stores and at more than 200,000 retail locations where NFC payments are accepted. Apple has given little indication of Apple Pay's early success, but in October, Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed that Apple Pay had seen more than one million credit and debit card activations during its first 72 hours of availability.

Related Roundup: Apple Pay

Popular Stories

Aston Martin CarPlay Ultra Screen

Apple's CarPlay Ultra to Expand to These Vehicle Brands Later This Year

Sunday February 1, 2026 10:08 am PST by
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly nine months later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon. In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis. In his Powe...
Apple Logo Black

Apple's Next Launch is 'Imminent'

Sunday February 1, 2026 12:31 pm PST by
The calendar has turned to February, and a new report indicates that Apple's next product launch is "imminent," in the form of new MacBook Pro models. "All signs point to an imminent launch of next-generation MacBook Pros that retain the current form factor but deliver faster chips," Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said on Sunday. "I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated...
Apple MacBook Pro M4 hero

New MacBook Pros Reportedly Launching Alongside macOS 26.3

Sunday February 1, 2026 5:42 am PST by
Apple is planning to launch new MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips alongside macOS 26.3, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "Apple's faster MacBook Pros are planned for the macOS 26.3 release cycle," wrote Gurman, in his Power On newsletter today. "I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated for the macOS 26.3 software cycle, which runs from...
iOS 26

iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Tuesday February 3, 2026 7:47 am PST by
We are still waiting for the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate to come out, so the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week or two away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April. Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far. iOS 26.3 iPhone to Android Transfer Tool iOS 26.3 makes it easier...
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

Apple Changes How You Order a Mac

Saturday January 31, 2026 10:51 am PST by
Apple recently updated its online store with a new ordering process for Macs, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro. There used to be a handful of standard configurations available for each Mac, but now you must configure a Mac entirely from scratch on a feature-by-feature basis. In other words, ordering a new Mac now works much like ordering an...

Top Rated Comments

3NV7 Avatar
145 months ago
"Most Popular at Whole Foods"

Stereotypes FTW!
Score: 35 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gbc204 Avatar
145 months ago
I didn't think I would ever use Apple Pay, but now I use it whenever I can. It feels like the future. I used to get annoyed when people in line ahead of me would fumble for cash, or worse coins, (or god forbid WRITE A CHECK) and hold up the line. Now I get annoyed at the 10 extra seconds it takes to use a credit card. It really is fantastically convenient. I wish I could store my Target card info and other stuff like that on the phone too.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dwsolberg Avatar
145 months ago
At one point, Steve Job's goal was for the iPhone to get 1% of the phone market.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zhenya Avatar
145 months ago
I can't stand Wegmans!
I know. What's to like? A wide selection of food from inexpensive to foreign to gourmet. Prices competitive with the regular grocery stores. Fish, meat, cheese, produce and bakery sections that put other grocery stores to shame. Rarely a line to wait in. And the employees are always courteous and knowledgeable. What a crock! :eek:
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TraceyS/FL Avatar
145 months ago

- They need a way for local merchants / non-chains to be able to take Apple Pay...

There is, it is called accept NFC payments.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Glideslope Avatar
145 months ago
"Most Popular at Whole Foods"

Stereotypes FTW!
For the record: I used it at McDonalds last week on Breakfast Burritos and a large Coffee. Probably as far from "Whole Foods" as one can go. ;)
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)