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| An iPhone user makes a payment using Apple Pay at a convenience store in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap |
By Lee Kyung-min
Market analysts are divided over whether iPhone sales will dramatically increase to over 30 percent of the total market share in Korea after the launch of Apple Pay, a contactless mobile payment service provided by global tech titan Apple, two days ago.
Most said that an Apple Pay-driven increase in local sales of the iPhone will not dramatically increase, not at least before the release of the iPhone 15 series in the second half of this year. The market share of the American mobile devices, they add, will not surpass the dominant Galaxy series, since the payment system is not that strong of a determinant when consumers choose new phones.
But they also said many young consumers are willing to switch to iPhone as they seek to stop using Samsung Pay, a similar system provided by the Galaxy series made by Samsung Electronics.
Data from Counterpoint Research, a market research firm, shows Apple's market share in Korea stood at 22.5 percent in 2022, whereas that of Samsung Galaxy was well over 75 percent. For context, Apple's market share in Japan is nearly 50 percent.
Further anchoring the view is a rapid move by Samsung to fortify cooperation with Naver Pay and Kakao Pay, the top two local online platform market players, in a rare, much-rushed partnership. The payment subsidiaries of the country's largest portal operator Naver and online platform operator Kakao said that their integrated services, available from Wednesday, will enhance convenience for Samsung device users.
"I don't have to carry debit or credit cards anymore," an iPhone user said. "I have waited for so long for Apple to launch a service similar to Samsung Pay. Now that it has, I will not think about using the Galaxy series."
This is a sentiment shared by many young people in their 20s and 30s. Data from Vinu Labs, the developer of Everytime, an information-sharing app among university students, showed that 82 percent of 1,000 surveyed said they were willing to use iPhone for the new payment system.
Of the total, 35 percent of Galaxy users said they were willing to switch to iPhone. Over 98 percent of iPhone users said they will continue to use an Apple device.
Counterpoint Research researcher Lee Yun-jeong said it will take time to accurately analyze the impact of Apple Pay on the local sales of iPhone.
"Apple's presence in the Korean market will expand in the long term," Lee said in a report. "But the launch of Apple Pay should be treated as a separate issue, as evidenced by limited sales growth of the American product in Japan and China, since the launch of Apple Pay there in 2016."
Hanwha Investment & Securities researcher Kim So-hye said "Apple Pay's impact on local contactless payment services will be limited."
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