A new report from Juniper Research has found that mobile phone and tablet users will make 195 billion mobile commerce transactions annually by 2019, up from 72 billion this year.

According to the report, Mobile Commerce Markets: Key Sector Strategies, Opportunities & Forecasts 2014-2019, highest growth rates are expected in the NFC sector. Here, usage is expected to be buoyed by the launch of Apple Pay, together with a host of anticipated deployments by banks using solutions based on HCE (Host Card Emulation) technology.

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However, the highest net increase in transaction volumes will occur in the digital goods sector, fuelled by a surge in micropayments for in-app purchases, notably within arenas such as social gaming. The report highlighted the opportunity for digital content monetisation presented by direct carrier billing, particularly within underbanked regions and demographics.

According to report author Dr Windsor Holden, "Storefronts that have deployed carrier billing solutions have already seen positive results across a range of indicators - higher conversion rates, higher average transaction values, higher transaction volumes. For the first time, they can monetise consumers who would otherwise have been excluded either because they lacked a credit card or because they were unwilling to enter card details online."

"Pent-Up Demand" for mTicketing

Meanwhile, the report observed that many mobile ticketing deployments had seen rapid adoption rates immediately post-launch, suggesting a pent-up demand for such services. In the US, MBTA (Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority)'s mTicket accounted for 15% of ticket sales within 9 months of launch, while New York Waterways has reached 25% in less than 2 years.

Other findings from the report include:

  • There is significant transactional migration from desktop to mobile as consumers increasingly "media-stack" (ie make purchases on their devices while watching TV).
  • Rather than focusing purely on payments, stakeholders need to emphasise the synergies between mobile payment and loyalty to persuade retailers to become engaged.

 The whitepaper, Mobile Commerce ~ On The Money, is available to download from the Juniper website together with further details of the full report and the attendant Mobile Commerce Markets Excel.