Consumers want simple, convenient, flexible and more innovative ways to pay for retail merchandise and want retailers to move to new payment strategies and technologies, a new MasterCard study reveals.

The "Retail Social Listening Study," conducted with Prime Research, evaluated 1.6 million online interactions involving shopping and retail across 61 markets ranging from the U.S. to Asia, Africa and the Pacific Rim, over the last 12 months, according to an announcement.

Key trends identified include consumer demand for greater convenience in payment, and the desire to be rewarded for using new technology-enabled payment such as NFC. Fashion consumers were most enthused about leading-edge options such as contactless acceptance and mobile payment.

"The wave of social engagement we see every time new payment innovations are rolled out truly reflects the demand and desire for new and more convenient ways to pay," Carlos Menendez, executive director for international markets at MasterCard, said in the announcement. "It also shows that payments have really moved into the heart of the shopping experience — causing frustration when not accepted and engagement when fast, easy and personal."

The leading topics in North America consumer conversations were digital wallets and in-app payments.

According to a report from Channelnomics.com, MasterCard is devising a number of new payment initiatives, including biometric-based contactless payments using fingerprints or facial photos. Another is MasterCard's digital wallet approach, MasterPass, which consumers can use to fund in-app and online payments.