Mobile commerce is the fastest growing trend within the mobile industry, and mobile is the key ecosystem for the digital economy today.
Juniper Research affirms that the value of digital content billed via direct carrier billing will increase from just fewer than €790 million last year to more than €5.2 billion in 2017, representing average annual growth over the forecast period of 46%.
Carrier Billing growing 46% per year
Carrier billing, for many, is the preferred payment method throughout mobile markets worldwide. This method of payment will revolutionize the mobile commerce industry by bringing numerous benefits to all the players involved: from operators and digital merchants to end users.
Today consumers can buy digital content with phone-originated low-friction transactions, with no need for credit card or bank account. Carrier billing eases consumer purchase decisions: making them five times more likely to complete an app store purchase than if they used a credit card.
Across Europe more than 283 million users do not own a credit card, but at the same time the handset penetration is over 120%, making carrier billing a great monetization opportunity, according to Juniper research.
In Italy, the mobile economy’s compound value is estimated at €25 billion, which could reach €40 billion by 2016. This would be equivalent to 2% of Italy’s GDP, according to Politecnico di Milano. With its 25.8 million people, owning at least one smartphone device, Italy is one of the most innovative markets in Europe.
Latin America, with an estimated population of over 600 million people, will see a continuous growth in mobile users and connections, according to GSMA’s figures, with 328 million mobile users (53.5% of the population). Country leaders are Brazil (112.5 million mobile users) followed by Mexico (97.6 million), and Argentina (52.9 million).
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