Mobile commerce transactions will near 200 billion by 2019: Report

Mobile phone and tablet users will make 195 billion mobile commerce transactions annually by 2019, up from 72 billion this year, according to a latest report by Juniper Research.

According to the report, 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.

[caption id="attachment_75143" align="alignleft" width="380"] Representational image: Reuters[/caption]

"There is significant transactional migration from desktop to mobile as consumers increasingly "media-stack" (ie make purchases on their devices while watching TV)," the market analyst firm stated.

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.

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The report highlighted the opportunity for digital content monetisation presented by direct carrier billing, particularly within underbanked regions and demographics.

Windsor Holden, who is the author of the report, said, "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."

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 percent of ticket sales within 9 months of launch, while New York Waterways has reached 25 percent in less than 2 years.

Rather than focusing purely on payments, stakeholders need to emphasise the synergies between mobile payment and loyalty to persuade retailers to become engaged, the report added.