Mobile to drive 60% e-commerce growth – report

A new study has revealed how online commerce will grow as a result of consumers taking to mobile platforms for digital shopping.

Juniper Research reckons annual purchases being conducted over mobile, tablet and to some extent desktop platforms will drive annual purchases globally to 125 billion by 2018. Such growth would represent an increase in 60% on the total number of online purchases in 2015.

According to Juniper, the growth has been brought on by a combination of factors relating to the pervasion of consumer connectivity. A rise in commerce by commuters will, allegedly, be brought about by improved wifi and 4G connections on trains and other commuter public transport routes. It also believes more content will be consumed direct-to-device as physical media gets phased out by digital and streamed subscription services.

Elsewhere, Juniper also highlighted the growth in the Chinese e-commerce market, brought about by mobile and exploited by the overwhelming success of Alibaba. The report does, however, warn against the threat of data breaches across all tech platforms, after a number of high profile security failings in recent years.

“At worst, data breaches can lead to significant customer churn, together with possible remuneration requirements,” said Dr Windsor Holden, who is a research author at Juniper. “Consumers need to be reassured that their vital information is not being compromised or shared.”

Mobile has become an increasingly utilised medium for commerce and payments, as mobile banking and payment platforms grow in popularity and scale – with services including Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and AliPay promising to provide more convenient methods for physical and digital commerce.