Exactly what we should have expected, actually. It was never a secret to those close to the payments and retail businesses that usage of Apple Pay would be slow to build. Here’s why: although many major retailers such as Rite Aid, McDonald’s, and Best Buy take Apple Pay, only 27 percent of U.S. retail outlets, which include millions of small businesses, have the new checkout terminals needed to accept it, according to a September 17 study by the Strawhecker Group, a payments consultant. As a result, it’s hard even for people who have used Apple Pay to get in the habit of paying with it.