Forrester

The Starbucks-Square partnership "represents a significant milestone in the advancement of mobile payment and digital wallets," writes Forrester analyst Denée Carrington in a new blog post.

In a recent report entitled "Why The Digital Wallet Wars Matter," Carrington argues that mobile payments are just the first step in a broader digital wallet revolution. "Customer recognition, embedded loyalty, and faster checkout [are] what Square enables for its existing merchants. If the Square/Starbucks duo can successfully deliver a more convenient, contextually relevant, and compelling experience, then consumers will look forward to using the Pay With Square digital wallet at Starbucks and with their other favorite merchants. It also will set a new a standard for the type of compelling experience consumers will know is possible and come to expect when using a mobile digital wallet," writes Carrington.

According to the report, 30% of US mobile phone owners are open to in-store mobile payments, and that number jumps to 50% among smartphone owners.

Read more of her analysis on her blog.

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Forrester Research, Inc. (Nasdaq: FORR) is an independent research company that provides pragmatic and forward-thinking advice to global leaders in business and technology. Forrester works with professionals in 17 key roles at major companies providing proprietary research, customer insight, consulting, events, and peer-to-peer executive programs. For more than 29 years, Forrester has been making IT, marketing, and technology industry leaders successful every day. For more information, visit http://www.forrester.com/.