Digital Lifescapes

The world of eCommerce payments has evolved. As we look toward the latter half of this decade, we're witnessing a transformation in how digital commerce operates, with a clear shift toward localized payment solutions within a global marketplace. The numbers tell a compelling story. According to Juniper Research's latest analysis, global eCommerce transactions are set to reach $11.4 trillion by 2029, marking a 63 percent increase from $7 trillion in 2024. This growth isn't just about volume – it's about fundamental changes in how people pay for goods and services online. Perhaps most striking is the projected dominance of Alternative Payment Methods (APMs), which are expected to account for 69 percent of global transactions by 2029, with 360 billion transactions processed through these channels. eCommerce Payments Market Development What makes this shift particularly interesting is how it reflects the democratization of digital commerce. Traditional card-based systems ar...

Protecting online payment data is integral to the security of the digital payments ecosystem. In an increasingly interconnected world, with a growing number of payment options, the need for strong security solutions is paramount. Payments currently fall under four main categories: card present transactions, eCommerce payments, mobile payments, and Internet of Things (IoT) payments. With so many digital payment methods now in use, the need to ensure that consumer data is protected across all channels is growing rapidly. According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research , the total number of tokenized payment transactions will exceed one trillion globally by 2026 -- that's rising from 680 billion in 2022. Tokenized Payment Market Development This trend represents a growth of 58 percent over the next 4 years. Juniper attributed this growth to the rise of ‘one-click’ solutions -- such as Click-to-Pay -- that use card-on-file tokenization to store a customer’s payment c...

Although the rise of electronic commerce has slowed somewhat since the initial explosive growth, the overall volume and value of eCommerce transactions continue to climb. There are several drivers supporting this growth. A key driver is the international adoption of a Global Networked Economy. According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, the value of international cross-border eCommerce is forecast to exceed $2.1 trillion in 2023 -- that's up from $1.9 trillion in 2022. International eCommerce Market Development This growth of over 13 percent in a single year reflects the increasing success of online marketplaces that offer goods across borders, as well as the rising viability of cross-border sales as an eCommerce model.  The new research study found that as eCommerce models diversify -- including models such as buy now pay later and click and collect -- cross-border options must also keep pace, by enabling local distribution and payment partnerships. Juniper...

Where can you find the most value for your hard-earned money? Informed people everywhere seek the best consumer product purchase options via their mobile device and buy what they need with the expectation of reliable and fast delivery. This trend forces legacy retailers to shift their strategies and increase their digital presence and product availability. Moreover, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the omni-channel retail laggards. Most retailers feel under pressure to offer streamlined shopping experiences and support omni-channel payments. The line between physical and digital commerce is becoming increasingly blurred. These key trends are truly transformational. Omnichannel Mobile Payments Market Development It's now forecast that mCommerce payments will reach $3.1 trillion in 2025 -- that's up from $2.1 trillion in 2020, according to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research. The analyst found that the pandemic’s massive boost to digital wal...

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 ...

Fintech innovation continues to disrupt the Global Networked Economy. The value of consumer spending on remote payments for digital and physical goods is estimated to have surpassed $3.3 trillion in 2018 -- that's up 10 percent on the 2017 total of $3 trillion. A recent worldwide market study by Juniper Research found PayPal already accounts for 20 percent of all transactions made outside China, while the success of Alipay and Weixin Pay within China means that these two players combined now account for 45 percent of global payment volumes. Mobile Payments Market Development Mobile payments impact on eCommerce’s growth cannot be overestimated. The emergence of an app-based economy in the wake of Apple’s App Store launch in 2008 made many online retailers -- such as Amazon, eBay and Alibaba -- recognize the channel’s potential. When digital and physical goods are taken together, mobile devices (including media tablets) are expected to account for nearly 51 percent of online ...

The global retail sector has been greatly impacted by the shift to online eCommerce. That being said, remarkable in-store innovation continues to transform the retailer employee and customer experiences. Retailers are beginning to use wearable technology to improve processes and customer satisfaction. Retailer wearables provide in-store employees with access to information such as stock levels, as well as to facilitate communication with team members. This allows shopper requests to be resolved faster and ensures that the employee continues to interact with the customer, improving the overall shopping experience. Retail Wearables Market Development ABI Research forecasts enterprise retail wearable shipments will reach nearly 10 million in 2022, increasing from just 2 million in 2017 -- that's a CAGR of 38 percent. This makes retail one of the fastest growing enterprise wearable verticals, with numerous devices improving store operations. Devices such as smartwatches, smar...

When a buyer visits a company's website, will their visit result in a good user experience -- regardless of the device they're using at the time? More often than not, that experience is within a smaller screen on a mobile device -- such as a smartphone or media tablet. Savvy marketers are already starting to influence the adoption of mobile-first design strategies for their online properties.  Making it easier to buy something via a mobile device is a forward-thinking competitive advantage, because this activity will become more mainstream over time. eBusiness teams are working on rebuilding their legacy desktop site experiences to be responsive across all web-enabled touch-points, but it's a huge undertaking and few organizations have the budget or risk appetite to redesign all of their web assets in one fell swoop. Many teams start with the easy places on their website -- such as the home page, the category pages, the campaign landing pages -- after all, these pages...

With the advent of mobile couponing, eCoupons are being delivered to and accessed via multiple devices -- such as PCs, smartphones and media tablets. Moreover, eCoupons are offered through a variety of distribution channels -- including email, apps and websites. Juniper Research has found that the number of eCoupons redeemed will nearly double over the next three years, rising from 16 billion this year to more than 31 billion in 2019. The findings from the latest Juniper market study uncovered that redemptions would primarily be driven by mobile coupons. Juniper argues that while there would be some growth in the PAH (print at home) space across fixed and mobile, the increase would primarily be driven through in-store, barcode based redemptions and online redemptions. At the same time, the market study observed that that consumer behavior was evolving to incorporate online or mobile coupon search prior to either remote or in-store purchases. It cited the sharp rise in visits ...

Mobile payments continue to represent one of the most dynamic and fast-evolving arenas of our connected society. This evolution encompasses what we now buy via the mobile commerce ecosystem, the payment mechanisms we use to buy it and the devices on which we shop for a selected product or service. Juniper Research now forecasts that annual retail payments on mobile handsets and tablets are expected to reach $707 billion by 2018, representing 30 percent of all eRetail by that time. This compares with mobile retail spend of $182 billion in 2013, when mobile accounted for around 15 percent of eRetail. The latest market study by Juniper found that leading retailers were increasingly developing strategies built around mobile, using it as a hub facilitating payment, product discovery and customer retention. As a result, it found that the size and scale of purchases across both smartphones and tablets was increasing strongly. However, for users owning both devices there was a strong tre...

The number of discount coupons redeemed through mobile phones and media tablet devices is expected to reach 10 billion this year -- that's up by more than 50 percent on last year, according to the latest market study by Juniper Research. Juniper believes that innovative retailers are increasingly seeking to offer mobile as a delivery channel -- both as a means of driving in-store retail and to enhance consumer engagement and retention. It pointed out that while mobile still accounted for a comparatively low volume of coupons issued, retailers had been encouraged by the markedly higher average redemption rate of mobile coupons (approx 10 percent) when compared to traditional print media and PC coupons (typically 1 percent or less). Furthermore, the study findings showed that mobile couponing offered retailers the opportunity to marry their digital and physical assets. "While we’ve heard that online retail is killing the High Street -- witness United Retail filing for...

What are the new customer service channels that are gaining traction in the marketplace? How has the concept of customer care evolved? And, what are the challenges and opportunities of "social" customer service? These are some of the key questions that eMarketer considered as part of their market study. The increased adoption of the internet has led to major changes in customer service best practices, according to the latest eMarketer assessment. Savvy shoppers already have an array of online customer service tools at their disposal -- including live chat, social networks and smartphone apps. Today, the stakes are high for all retailers that try to keep up with the current trends. Consumers will quickly punish retailers that do not meet their customer expectations -- but they will also reward those that do. Findings from a Q1 2012 study by the Temkin Group showed that customers are loyal to businesses that provide good customer service. In fact,  86 percent of surve...

There once was a time when a favorite American online activity was shopping, but given the current economic outlook many are now apparently spending more time on their finances. Are they concerned about the rising price of basic commodities and their shrinking buying power in the marketplace? comScore released its monthly analysis of U.S. web activity at the top online properties for July 2012. More Americans visited the Business and Finance category at the start of the third quarter of 2012, including Online Trading sites and Financial Advice sites. "Millions of Americans visited the Business and Finance category in July for up-to-the-minute reporting on the unsteady financial markets and for a mid-year health check on their investments and other financial interests." said Jeff Hackett, executive vice president of comScore . In July, two Business and Finance subcategories earned a spot in the top-gaining categories ranking, including the number one placeholder earned...

Are smartphone apps the next new marketing gimmick for retailers, or a valuable tool for their customers? According to the latest market study by ABI Research, given the results of a new survey of U.S. consumers, it may be both. Survey respondents who said they had downloaded a retailer-branded app said the app caused them to visit the store more (45.8%), buy more of the store or brand's products and services (40.4%), tell a friend about their store shopping experience (35.8%), and encourage friends to visit the store (30.8%). "These are overwhelmingly positive numbers," says senior analyst Mark Beccue at ABI Research . "They are so compelling that if retailers do not have a smartphone app strategy in place right now they are in danger of being left behind by their competitors." That being said, only 25 percent of the respondents had downloaded a retailer-branded app. It is possible the high level of positive response is due to the profile of the responden...

Using their new and powerful mobile smartphones, an expanding class of American consumers -- 100 million strong and growing -- is helping to redefine the cultural norms in the U.S. marketplace. According to the latest market study by eMarketer, members of the "smartphone class" stand apart from other Americans in the way they shop, communicate, consume media -- even how they use their spare time. This class of smartphone-enabled people can be defined by their connectedness and their sense of empowerment that's attained through unfettered access to real-time online information. "What others do with a PC, they do with their smartphones," said Catherine Boyle, eMarketer senior analyst. Their phone is their workplace, entertainment center and their marketplace. They watch videos in coffee shops, social network at concerts, play games in waiting rooms, scan barcodes in stores and shop with their smartphone from anywhere at any time. Moreover, their mobi...

Some UK retailers have apparently found a reason for celebration -- even within a historically weak economy. British consumers spent £5.8 billion online in March, 2012 -- that's the equivalent of £114 per person, according to the latest IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index. This equates to a year-on-year growth of 14 percent for the e-retail sector and a 9 percent increase on February. With more and more tech-savvy Brits using smartphones and tablets outfitted with purpose-built applications, shopping via mobile devices has become an important driver of online shopping via the internet. As a result, mobile retail (m-retail) has recorded huge growth, up a staggering 254% on March 2011 and averaging 300% year-on-year growth for Q1 2012. Interestingly, the conversion rates for mobile  -- those shoppers that visit a retail site via a mobile device and make a purchase from it -- remains very low at 0.7 percent in Q1 2011, increasing to 1.4 percent in Q1 2012, and that's compare...

American online retail sales -- including digital downloads and event tickets but excluding travel -- will rise 15.4 percent to $224.2 billion this year, according to the latest market assessment by eMarketer . Fast-growing categories like apparel and accessories will help boost online retail sales figures, but underlying the trend is a deeper shift in the mindset of many consumers -- which has apparently transformed them into what eMarketer calls omni-channel shoppers. “In the past, cross-channel shopping amounted to using a retailer’s different channels one at a time for separate transactions,” said Jeffrey Grau, eMarketer principal analyst. “But today, consumers are moving between a retailer’s channels -- websites, stores, mobile devices, social media -- in a fluid way.” A February 2012 survey by price comparison service PriceGrabber found most U.S. online consumer shoppers plan to combine their online, brick-and-mortar and mobile retail channel purchase experiences this y...

Tablet use during the 2011 UK holiday season doubled compared with 2010, as 8 percent of consumers now use these devices as their main means of getting online, according to a new market study by eDigitalResearch and IMRG . The results also saw record numbers of consumers visiting social media sites over two days, with just under half (45 percent) of online users logging into their accounts, up from 20.8 percent last year. The annual Christmas activity survey also saw a 1 percent rise in the number going online with 86 percent of all UK online consumers now logging on over the two days. Derek Eccleston, Head of Research at eDigitalResearch, said "Looking at the results, we can see that the internet is now a crucial part of everyday consumer life. Many see logging on during Christmas and Boxing Day as the norm, especially when trying out new gadgets and Christmas gifts." The rise in tablet use and social media sites is an indication of what's to come in 2012. It...

More and more people are willing to buy products and services online. According to the latest market study by eMarketer , U.S. mobile commerce sales -- including travel related services -- surged 91.4 percent to reach $6.7 billion in 2011. Ongoing growth is forecast to boost sales to $31 billion in 2015. The key market development trends are already in motion. Familiarity with using mobile shopping services via a smartphone -- plus an increasing number of retailers launching mobile optimized websites and apps -- will play an important role in driving additional m-commerce sales. "To keep up with consumer expectations, retailers are bolstering their mobile offerings," said Jeffrey Grau, eMarketer principal analyst. “Retailers were slow to react to consumer interest in mobile shopping. But now they are making great strides in launching mobile websites and apps." This accelerated momentum will help U.S. m-commerce related revenue grow at a compound annual rate of 5...

Americans are expected to hold back on their winter holiday shopping spend this year, because of rising prices for basic commodities such as food and utility services -- as well as their concerns about the overall economy. In fact, several pre-holiday surveys have already confirmed that shoppers intend to spend either the same or less on purchases during the 2011 holiday season, when compared to last year. That being said, the convenience and anticipated cost-savings from online shopping will likely bring more people on the web for the holidays -- spending a greater share of their gift budget with a variety of online retailers. eMarketer estimates that U.S. retail ecommerce holiday-season sales, which include all retail ecommerce sales during November and December, will rise by 16.8 percent this year to $46.7 billion. "This marks three years of strong online holiday sales and demonstrates the web’s ability to help consumers achieve their holiday gift buying goals i...