Mobile transactions to top $300bn

Payments made by mobile phone for digital goods (such as music, tickets and games), and physical goods (such as books and gifts), will top $300bn by 2013, according to an investigation carried out by Juniper Research.

The study explores how mobile technology is developing into a platform on which people are feeling more secure when making transactions. A breakdown of the numbers shows that there is an immediate demand for software, systems, and services that will help facilitate such transactions.

Author of the report, Howard Wilcox said: "Merchants in North America and Western Europe are just starting to realise the potential of a mobile web presence as a fourth channel to market. Retailers should be evaluating the benefits of the mobile web, and be mindful of the success of regular e-commerce sites in generating sales. They need to move quickly to exploit the opportunity presented, and ensure that they maintain ease of use for their customers who are already familiar with web shopping from their PCs."

Some highlights from the report:

• Global annual gross transaction value will grow over 5 times by 2013

• The ticketing segment will be driven by consumer usage on rail, air and bus networks as well as sports and entertainment events. This will represent over 40% of the global transaction value by 2013.

• The top 2 regions (Far East and W. Europe) will represent over 60% of the $300bn p.a. global mobile payment gross transaction value by 2013, for digital and physical goods.