New data released by Juniper Research has highlighted how digital commerce spending is due to rise 11.5% within 12 months, from the $10.5 trillion recorded last year, to over $11.6 trillion by the end of 2021.
This latest figure encompasses a multitude of spending habits, including money transfer, digital goods purchases, physical goods purchases, digital ticketing purchases, banking bill payments, NFC mobile retail payments, and QR code retail payments.
The research found that the successful adoption of digital solutions during the pandemic has resulted in consumer behaviour becoming increasingly digitally-led, rather than reverting to pre-pandemic norms.
The data also identified that the reactive digital commerce strategies established by merchants during the pandemic need to turn into proactive, long-term strategies that offer the best user experiences, as competition in the digital commerce ecosystem significantly intensifies.
Mobile Leading Digital Commerce Spend
The new research highlighted in the Digital Commerce: Key Trends, Sectors and Market Forecasts 2021-2025 Market Research report found that mobile commerce will account for 73% of all digital commerce transactions by value in 2021; rising to 79% by 2025. Mobile has emerged as the most important way to access services, and although online will remain relevant for higher-value transactions, user experiences must be mobile-first.
“Mobile apps are the dominant force in digital commerce, with user experiences becoming critical, as products become heavily commoditised,” explains research author Nick Maynard. “Merchants must leverage AI-based analytics to ensure a truly personalised mobile commerce experience, or they will lose out to more digitally adept merchants.”
Remote Physical Goods Purchases are Largest Segment, but Contactless is Growing Rapidly
The research also found that remote physical goods purchases will account for the single largest transaction value of any segment in 2021 at 22% of the total, followed by money transfer and QR code payments. The research identified however that contactless mobile payments will have the highest rate of growth; increasing over 242% in value between 2021 and 2025, as OEM Pay services add spending insights and other value-added services to consolidate gains made during the pandemic.
