BASINGSTOKE, U.K.–A new study from Juniper Research has found digital commerce spending will rise to more than $11.6 trillion by the end of 2021, up from $10.5 trillion in 2020.
This spend encompasses money transfer, digital goods purchases, physical goods purchases, digital ticketing purchases, banking bill payments, NFC mobile retail payments and QR code retail payments, according to Juniper.
The company noted the research found the success of digital solutions during the pandemic means consumer behavior will become increasingly digitally led, rather than reverting to pre-pandemic norms.
According to Juniper, the research identified that reactive digital commerce strategies built in the pandemic by merchants need to turn into proactive, long-term strategies that offer the best user experiences, as competition in the digital commerce ecosystem intensifies.
Mobile Leading Digital Commerce Spend
The new research, Digital Commerce: Key Trends, Sectors and Market Forecasts 2021-2025 Market Research, forecasts 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,” Juniper said.
“Mobile apps are the dominant force in digital commerce, with user experiences becoming critical, as products become heavily commoditized,” said research author Nick Maynard. “Merchants must leverage AI-based analytics to ensure a truly personalized mobile commerce experience, or they will lose out to more digitally adept merchants.”
Fastest Growing Segment
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.
Juniper noted 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.