Square is among the buzziest names in the mobile payments ecosystem today, backed by more than $340M in venture capital from top-tier investors including Kleiner Perkins, Khosla Ventures and Sequoia Capital. But this week, the well-funded payments company threw in the towel on its mobile payments app Square Wallet – removing the app from both the iTunes App Store and Google Play Store.
While the end of Square Wallet came hand-in-hand with the launch of a new ordering app aimed at local shops, cafes, and restaurants called Square Order, it’s clear based on the data that Square Wallet – which aimed to connect users with Square-registered merchants – was clearly a dud in the mobile ranks.
In the beginning of March, we had already noted that Square Wallet had fallen in its App Store category ranking relative to competitors including PayPal, Google Wallet and even LevelUp. Refreshing the data since then shows that Square’s decline in the App Store ranks has been even more precipitous, falling out of the top 300 ‘Lifestyle’ apps in the past couple weeks.
The chart below highlights Square Wallet’s rapid fall in its category ranking vs. four competing mobile wallet apps. Interestingly, LifeLock Wallet (formerly Lemon Wallet prior to its purchase by Lifelock) also saw a significant drop in the App Store ranks but has bounced back since the beginning of May.
As Square Order takes aim at ordering apps including Seamless, it will be interesting to monitor whether the newly-launched app and Square pivot fairs better in the coming months. Sign up for the free CB Insights Mobile Momentum newsletter which highlights promising mobile apps from the iTunes App Store.