Digital Lifescapes

Across the globe, eRetail is now the mainstream -- with well over half of all adults making purchases for products and services online, increasingly from their mobile devices. Meanwhile, traditional bricks and mortar retailers have had to incorporate digital channels into their offerings. Unfortunately for the retailer, there are numerous steps during the online shopping experience where the shopper may abandon their journey to payment. Online Payments Market Development The value of spending on remote payments for digital and physical goods will surpass $3.3 trillion this year -- that's up 10 percent on the 2017 total of $3 trillion, according to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research. The new research findings uncovered that alternative payment mechanisms would comprise an ever increasing proportion of online spending. PayPal already accounts for 20 percent of mobile and online physical goods transactions made outside China, while the success of Alipay an...

The major players in the smartphone ecosystem are driving growth with value-added services. The emergence of several high profile mobile payment service offerings has provided the sector with much needed new growth opportunities. Apple, Samsung and Google have all expanded their mobile wallet range across the globe: by the end of 2016, the services were available in 13, 8 and 9 markets respectively. Between the three vendors, they have rapidly scaled their active mobile wallet user base -- which had reached an estimated 74 million by the end of 2016. Global spend via mobile wallets is expected to rise by nearly 32 percent in 2017 to $1.35 trillion, according to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research. Mobile Wallet Market Development The study found that spend is currently concentrated in the Far East & China, due primarily to the success of mobile services such as Alipay and WeChat. However, Juniper analysts believe that moves by PayPal and Apple to of...

Payments on smartphones via the mobile internet will boost global online retailers. The entry of OS-Pay (Apple Pay and Android Pay) to the market is likely to play an important role in retailer business strategy, according to the latest market study by Juniper Research. Moreover, with biometric authentication becoming more common as a means of avoiding password or PIN entry, purchase friction can be further reduced. New findings from the Juniper study indicate that the value of digital and physical goods purchased through mobile 'OS-Pay' platforms will increase by fifteen times in the next two years. A combination of in-app purchases and website retail payments is projected to drive worldwide annual spend via Apple Pay and Android Pay to $8 billion in 2018 -- that's up from just $540 million this year. Simple Transactions Key to Mobile Success Their study also found that the integration of OS-Pay into North American eRetail apps will be welcomed by software devel...

The U.S. mobile payment landscape is progressing very slowly. Although two-thirds of American consumers are interested in learning more about transitioning to a smartphone wallet platform, that interest is simply not translating into adoption. While traditional point of sale payment methods continue to reign supreme, a number of third-party mobile wallets are jockeying for position in the U.S. marketplace -- but not all have the vision needed for long-term survival. To endure the inevitable wave of consolidation, a well-defined road-map paired with patience and endurance will be among the many competencies required. According to the latest market study by the Yankee Group, they ranked the staying power of Google Wallet, Isis, LevelUp, Loop, MCX, PayPal, and Square as determined by the strength of their merchant and consumer value propositions and ability to deliver on them. Highlights from the market study include: Mobile wallets remain a story of high interest and low adopt...

The mobile payments market has long been an attractive opportunity, and mobile service providers have been facilitating payments for content services for many years. Mobile payment services such as ticketing and contactless payments have been available in some markets since the late 1990s or early 2000s. More advanced m-payments services -- typically targeting customers in the developed world -- such as m-wallet and associated value-added services, can generate significant revenue for mobile network operators in the long-run. However, it is important to acknowledge that not all mobile operators can launch these services successfully and make them mass market, according to the latest market study by Pyramid Research. Their new report highlights the differences between the banked and unbanked, and provides a broader context for mobile operators in general. Pyramid Research took a closer look at mobile payments, such as the traditional card payment process, the benefits of mobile ...

You may recall that in March I reported NPD In-Stat had forecast that proximity mobile payment transactions will approach 9.9 billion in 2016 -- that's up from 1.1 billion in 2012, nearly a ten-fold increase. That being said, proximity technology that's embedded in mobile handsets are just one of the many emerging global market opportunities for this evolving new online business model. U.S. android smartphone users engaged in mobile payment applications (via software apps) are on the rise, growing 8 percent since August last year to nearly 35 percent, according to the latest market study by The NPD Group . An increasing proportion of consumers are engaged in using their smartphones to move money, buy products and services on their phone, comparison shop, redeem coupons, and start to pay for all types of things -- using their mobile phone. "Mobile payment and wallet solutions are clearly at a very early stage of development, but consumers are demonstrating greater c...