Exploring technology readiness for mobile payment app users

ABSTRACT

The study aims to better understand the various technology readiness segments by assessing how their readiness relates to demographics variables and their adoption, attitude, ease-of-use, usefulness and continuance intention to use mobile payment apps using the technology readiness index. Using a convenience sample of 416 from a consumer panel, a two-step cluster analysis shared similarities with three of the original technology readiness segments (pioneers, paranoids and explorers) while the other two segments clustered together into a fourth segment, hesitant-sceptics. The results indicate that South African mobile users are ready to use mobile payment applications, with the ‘explorer’ emerging as the best segment to target due to optimism levels, while the hesitant-sceptic segment represent the key to unlocking the real potential value of mobile payment apps. Understanding different segments provides marketers with the opportunity to select viable segments and to customise strategies to increase uptake and continued use according to customer needs.

KEYWORDS:

• TRI
• mobile payment applications
• clusters

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Melanie Wiese

Melanie Wiese has a PhD in Marketing (University of Pretoria, South Africa). Melanie is an Associate Professor in the field of Marketing Management at the University of Pretoria (UP). She is currently employed as a professor in the Economic and Management Sciences faculty. Her research interests focus on shopping and consumer behavior. Melanie´s research has appeared in a range of journals including, African Journal of Information Systems, African Journal of Business Management, International Journal of Bank Marketing, Journal of International Consumer Marketing and Journal of Marketing Management, among others.

Michael Humbani

Michael Humbani has a PhD in Marketing (University of Pretoria, South Africa). Michael is a Senior lecturer in the Department of Marketing Management, in the faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. His research focus is mobile marketing and he has recently published in the International Journal of Bank Marketing, Journal of African Business and  the International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies.