The value of remote transactions for digital and physical goods purchased through mobile devices is expected to cross $730bn per year by 2017, according to a new report by Juniper Research.
The report, "Mobile Payments for Digital & Physical Goods: Opportunity Analysis 2012-2017", found that transaction growth will be driven by the increasing scale of real-world (non-digital) purchases from major brands and retailers.
Companies like Domino’s in the US and Argos in the UK already seeing 6-7% growth of all sales occurring through the mobile channel.
According to the report, there will be significant migration of purchasing activity from laptops and desktops to tablet devices, with consumers increasingly engaging in online shopping while watching TV.
The development of the TV commerce trend would lead to consumers buying goods through mobile devices, which will account for 30% of eRetail within five years.
Juniper research also observed that such transactions would continue to comprise a small minority of a global retail sales marketplace currently worth over $16 trillion.
The report also found that digital goods sales continue to rise in tandem with smartphone/tablet growth, particularly across lifestyle/infotainment applications and despite the increase in sales, transaction security remains an issue for consumers.
Report author Windsor Holden said, "Mobile is increasingly being deployed at all touchpoints in the retail process – product discovery, product purchase, customer retention."
