News

Study: Mobile transaction users to top 2B by 2017

The consumption of services such as banking, money transfer, as well as purchases of goods and services via mobile device is surging, Juniper Research says.

November 18, 2014

A new report from Juniper Research indicates that more than 2 billion mobile phone or tablet users will make some form of mobile commerce transaction by the end of 2017, up from 1.6 billion this year, a news release from the company said.

According to the report, the consumption of services such as banking, money transfer and purchases of goods and services via mobile device is surging as consumers migrate from desktop computers or become first-time e-commerce users on a smartphone or tablet.

In a number of developed markets, mobile devices will account for more than half of online transactions within five years, according to Juniper findings.

The report, Mobile Commerce Markets: Key Sector Strategies, Opportunities & Forecasts 2014–2019, also observed that while contactless payments have yet to gain traction outside Japan and South Korea, Apple Pay is expected to provide NFC with real momentum.

The report stressed the opportunity for mobile to offer consumers in emerging markets first-time financial inclusivity through the provision of mobile wallets, enabling services beyond payments such as savings and micro-insurance.

Among other findings the report indicates that:

• consumer concerns around transaction security remain the primary inhibitor to service adoption; and
• growth in the number of mobile digital content purchasers in developing markets is relatively low, but the value of these customers is growing markedly as they transition from ringtone purchase to rich media content typically monetized through in-app purchase.

The whitepaper, "Mobile Commerce — On The Money," is available for download from the Juniper website.