Buying on Air: Mobile E-Commerce is Inevitable

It won’t happen overnight, but people will ultimately accept the idea of buying goods and services via their mobile devices such as cell phones, according to a recent report by Boston-based Yankee Group.

The report, “Mobile Payments: What Are They Worth?” projects that by 2006, some 50 million wireless phone users will use their phones to purchase premium content and physical goods. The 50 million figure will be approximately 26 percent of all wireless users.

Those kinds of user numbers?even if they pay only a few cents for each transaction?could add up to some significant revenue. The Yankee Group predicts that these users will spend in the neighborhood of $15 billion that year alone.

The report also includes information on the types of transactions most likely to occur as well as the kinds of businesses best positioned to benefit from the situation. For more information, visit www.yankeegroup.com.