Digital Lifescapes

Healthcare, and closely related pharmacy services, are due for disruption. Online pharmacies can deliver pharmaceuticals direct to customers, potentially changing the way they compare prices. These patients can now order their medications from registered pharmacists via the Internet. Patients can simply upload a copy of their prescriptions. Each medication request is controlled by registered pharmacists who direct them to the pharmacy warehouse in the region of the patient. Patients can access an ePharmacy through a software app, or through a website. Each ePharmacy will provide a variety of different services -- including online consultations, repeat prescriptions, lab tests, and over-the-counter (OTC) medication. Global ePharmacy Market Development According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, the number of ePharmacy users will reach 1 billion globally by 2027 -- that's increasing from 795 million in 2022, a growth of 28 percent. This increase is partly due ...

Given the current global economic environment, the retail market has shifted to customer convenience, forcing all surviving retailers to offer more online shopping, coupled with omnichannel payment options. Moving deeper into the digital era, retailers are now fighting for customer retention and reduced costs through new technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), cryptocurrencies, distributed ledger technology, internet of things (IoT) and machine-to-machine (M2M), among others. Despite these advances, the existing inhibitors to progress -- such as payment regulations, fraud and security -- must be addressed and resolved. The adequate balance between innovating and reducing pain points will help payment providers stay profitable and navigate ongoing retail transformation. While credit and debit cards continue to be the focus of online payments, innovation continues to encourage platform-integrated spending. The payment ecosystem, driven by fintech pioneers and mobile app...

By the end of 2019, eCommerce will have a significant role to play in economic growth, with 44 percent of the global population forecast to purchase physical goods and 27 percent purchasing digital goods. Moving deeper in the digital era, retailers are now focused on customer retention and reduced costs through the application of new technologies -- such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, internet of things (IoT) and machine-to-machine communications (M2M), among others. The growth of eRetail transactions has been so significant over the last decade that online payments for physical goods purchases exceeded the $2 trillion mark for the first time in 2017. Two years later, the market size has grown to $2.9 trillion spent online for the purchase of physical goods worldwide in 2019; reaching a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.8 percent. Payment Platforms Market Development According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, revenue from payment p...

The retail market has undergone a radical transformation, driven by an increasing focus on customer use of technology. Indeed, shoppers are now everywhere: in retailer stores, online or both at the same time -- comparison shopping via their smartphones. It's forcing retailers to offer superior shopping experiences that are coupled with omnichannel payments. By the end of 2019, eCommerce will have a significant role to play with 44 percent of the global population purchasing physical goods and 27 percent purchasing digital goods. Since eRetail has been disrupting the sector, legacy retailers have learned to incorporate more digital channels into their own offerings. Remote Payments Market Development According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, the total transaction value of remote payments for digital and physical goods will exceed $6 trillion by 2024 -- that's a growth rate of 53 percent from 2019. The new study revealed that online sales will ...

The advantage of a digital wallet is that -- for both online and offline transactions -- it affords the user an opportunity to make secure, quick payments, obviating the need for a physical card or to enter bank details for every purchase. For the unbanked, it goes further, providing a means of economic inclusion, both as an alternative to cash payments and as a way of accessing financial services such as loans and savings accounts. For the wallet provider, service evolution from the early days of online payments and person-to-person remittance has enabled several fintech vendors to achieve a strong presence across the payments and retail ecosystems. This now extends both to offering offline and online goods payments on their own and third-party storefronts, together with loyalty programs, bill payments and digital banking services. Digital Wallet Market Development Spending via digital wallets across Europe and North America will increase by 40 percent this year to nearly $7...

Online retailers have been a source of disruption for many incumbents around the globe. Over the past decade, eRetail adoption has accelerated and in 2015 online payments for physical goods totaled $1.66 trillion, while sales of digital goods and services generated a additional $754 billion. Credit and debit card payments have been the primary payment method in the online arena. There are now about 9.5 billion credit and debit cards in circulation worldwide. Moreover, the dominance of the leading payment card provider is reinforced by the fact that online retailers typically prefer these cards. Meanwhile, there's been an important shift in the market. In the past, the smartphone was used as a means of discovery, but not purchase of products and services. Now, the smartphone is used for both product discovery as well as the actual purchase. New technologies are enabling this shift. eRetail Market Development Trends According to the latest market study by Juniper Research,...

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...

Across the globe, eCommerce is about to enter the next phase of market development. This transition started back in 2013, when the value of mobile and online physical goods sales exceeded $1 trillion for the first time and last year exceeded $1.4 trillion. Based upon the ongoing adoption of smartphones and media tablets, the momentum for growth comes from the rapidly evolving mobile applications sphere -- with the Chinese marketplace, in particular, experiencing stellar increases. According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, global eRetail sales are expected to reach $1.7 trillion in 2015 -- that's up by more than 17 percent on the 2014 total. While recent growth had been buoyed by factors such as more free public Wi-Fi access and 4G cellular network deployments, the next wave of eRetail growth activity will be enacted by social media companies that use their mobile software apps to enable direct sales to consumers. Juniper observed that leading socia...

Over the past decade, eRetail transactions have accelerated to the point whereby, in 2013, more than $1 trillion in physical goods were sold online. At the same time, contactless payments have emerged as a means by which both retailers and transport operators can see tangible benefits. A global market study by Juniper Research has found that the annual combined transaction value of online, mobile and contactless payments will reach $4.7 trillion by 2019 -- that's up from just over $2.5 trillion this year. The study findings uncovered that the largest net increase in spending would occur through remote physical goods purchases. It also highlighted the dramatic surge in activity in emerging markets such as China, with the online retailer Alibaba accounting for 20 percent of all global B2C (business to consumer) and C2C (consumer to consumer) eRetail worldwide in 2013. However, while there was organic growth in the overall transaction levels due to increased purchasing on tabl...