Online payments for digital and physical goods hits record

New research shows the total transaction value of online remote payments for digital and physical goods will exceed US$6 trillion by 2024.

The new findings are based on data from Juniper Research that predict the growth of 53 percent in the transaction values from this year’s figures. An analysis of the data is now published in the firm’s report Mobile & Online Remote Payments for Digital and Physical Goods: Opportunities, Pain Points & Competition 2019-2024.

The report reveals that online sales will be dominated by physical goods, forecast to account for almost 80 percent of online retail purchases by 2024. It urges traditional retailers to provide omnichannel offerings to ensure services align with ever-increasing consumer expectations.

According to the report, online remote payments for digital and physical goods will be driven by purchases made via mobile devices, with the number of smartphone buyers increasing by nearly 60 per cent between 2019 and 2024. Consequently, just 21 per cent of purchases will be made using PCs, laptops and connected TVs globally by 2024.

The shift to mobile has impacted purchasing behaviour, with the average value of transactions expected to decline by 2024. Underpinning this growth, and the change in average transaction values, is the adoption of mobile ticketing – which is becoming increasingly remote and cashless..

Juniper Research assessed the digital strategies of 25 leading brick-and-mortar retailers according to their levels of agility and innovation. The Home Depot ranked first, owing to its proactive e-commerce strategies and engagement with new technologies, such as augmented reality and analytics, to improve online consumer experiences.

The Home Depot’s retail services are built on an omnichannel strategy; offering customers a comprehensive network of physical stores alongside robust online shopping experiences. Analytics is leveraged to adapt to evolving customer behaviours and AR technology to enable customers to visualise virtual products in the real world via their smartphones.“Brick-and-mortar retailers have to go beyond simple e-commerce to become digital-first companies,” said research author Morgane Kimmich. “Retailers must fundamentally embrace the digital era by optimizing data analytics and embracing new technologies; enabled by radical internal organisational change.”