Technology Selection: Worldwide Mobile Payments 2012–2017 Forecast and Retail Guidance

This IDC Retail Insights report presents a worldwide forecast of consumer and business spending over mobile networks from 2012 to 2017. IDC forecasts that by 2017, worldwide purchase volume over mobile devices will exceed $1 trillion. Most of this volume will be in the form of mobile commerce, which includes digital media consumed on the device as well as ecommerce through a mobile Web browser. Although NFC payments are still limited to a few countries in the Asia/Pacific region, we forecast rapid growth driven by handset and point-of-sale terminal upgrades.

According to Leslie Hand, research director, Retail Supply Chain, Sourcing, and Product Life-Cycle Management Strategies at IDC Retail Insights, "Mobile commerce and payments transactions will continue to accelerate rapidly, becoming a significant share of global commerce. Retailers should consider mobile payments a rather nascent capability that will continue to evolve, but one that they simply can't afford not to leverage as customers will be most loyal to retailers that provide the most value, information, and convenience. Mobile devices and transactions have a critical place in the omnichannel shopping arsenal."