Mobile to account for half of online purchases by 2017

by: Brian Day

Research and advisory firm Gartner recently issued a new report highlighting how the growing interest in mobile payments among U.S. consumers will impact online shopping over the next few years. Gartner predicts new mobile purchasing techniques will lead mobile commerce revenue to account for 50 percent of digital commerce revenue by 2017. That’s up from 22 percent in 2014 and 15 percent in 2013.

Apple Pay and efforts by competitors such as Google and Samsung are predicted to be one driving force behind the mobile boom. However, more and better smartphones and tablets hitting the market are expected to be the major igniters.

“Increasingly powerful smartphones and tablets, and the correspondingly rich and powerful applications available for each, enable consumers and business customers to interact seamlessly with companies, content and commerce experiences at virtually all stages of the purchase process,” Gartner reported in a press release.

In addition, Gartner predicts by the end of 2016, mobile digital assistants – or applications that can understand language and complete electronic tasks for the user, such as Siri, Google Now and Cortana – will help consumers purchase more than $2 billion worth of goods online annually. As consumers become more comfortable with mobile digital assistants filling out online forms and performing other routine tasks, they will increasingly trust those assistants to make purchases on their behalf, as well.

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