Significant growth in mobile ticketing transaction value will be a key driver of overall m-commerce growth between now and 2012, according to a new study from Juniper Research.
Mobile Ticketing to More than Double
“Mobile Commerce Strategies” indicates that rapidly increasing usage of mobile devices for tickets for all kinds of travel and entertainment, as well as sporting events, will be one of the main factors driving the growth of mobile commerce. Mobile ticketing transactions are forecast to exceed $100 billion (based on gross transaction value) as soon as 2012. This is more than double the market in 2010.
Nearly 15 billion tickets will be delivered to mobile devices worldwide by 2014, compared to just more than two billion this year. The transport sector is leading the way, with SMS, bar code and app-based services offered by rail and metro providers and airlines.
In addition to mobile ticketing, the study also provides an outlook for the next several years in areas including mobile payments for digital and physical goods, mobile payments, mobile money transfer and remittances, mobile coupons, and mobile banking. Following are brief highlights of several of these areas:
Mobile Payments for Digital and Physical Goods Set to Grow
Remote mobile payment for both physical and digital goods should substantially grow in popularity during the next several years. The worldwide market for remote mobile payment of digital goods, already expected to reach a healthy estimated $1.65 billion by the end of this year, is forecast to reach more than $2.5 billion by 2014.
In particular, mobile payments for physical goods will treble within three years as sites such as eBay Mobile and Amazon Mobile are used increasingly.
Mobile Banking Users to Reach 400M
The number of worldwide mobile phone users who perform mobile banking will double from 200 million this year to 400 million in 2013. The Far East and China currently account for about half of global mobile banking users, and that percentage will remain virtually flat as the number of users increases globally. Most regions will roughly retain their percentage of global mobile banking users in the next three years, with Western Europe accounting for the second-highest percentage of users and the Middle East and Africa and North America tying for the third-highest percentage.
Mobile Coupon Use to Triple
More than 300 million consumers around the world will have used mobile coupons by 2014 and this usage will generate a redemption value close to $6 billion globally. As more and more users acquire smart phones, the apps revolution will continue to trigger growth of new mobile coupon services, especially in developed markets. In turn, consumers will exploit the improved capabilities of their devices, especially to save money.
However, the report also identifies several constraints. For example, some users are concerned about their privacy and could be reluctant to share their mobile number to participate in coupon schemes for fear of spam and fake coupons.
Initial User Experience Critical
The Juniper report stresses that commerce providers need to keep users top of mind when developing their applications. If the initial user experience is poor for mobile payment methods, either based on cost, security, reliability or ease of use, then customers will reject them.
Smartphone Owners Increase Handset-based Spending
Smartphone owners in the US are becoming more comfortable shopping and buying from their mobile handsets, but poor mobile site functionality is still a turn-off for many would-be purchasers, according to the Q309 results from the Compete Smartphone Intelligence study.
The quarterly research, which explores how consumers use their iPhones, Blackberrys, Android devices and other smartphones, found that 37% of smartphone owners have purchased something non-mobile with their handset in the past six months.
Compete said its findings suggest that m-commerce is poised to “explode” in 2010, especially as manufacturers become more attuned to understanding individual consumer motivations, demographics and the handsets they use.
