Global e-commerce transactions to increase 43% during next five years

Global online sales will reach $4.8 trillion by 2024, up from $3.3 trillion in 2020.

That’s according to a report from Juniper Research, which said the growth will be driven by developing markets, with a big emphasis on China. The research also identified regions such as Latin America and Africa & Middle East as factors in the growth as improvements in connectivity enable the rise of e-commerce in new markets.

The new Juniper research, Strategies for Payment Providers: Industry Trends, Opportunities & Recommendations 2020-2024, urges payment providers to seek new revenue streams in emerging markets to mitigate slow growth in developed markets. It advises that accelerating financial inclusion via MFS (mobile financial services), QR code payments and carrier billing will be crucial for this.

The research found that mobile payments not requiring a linked bank account offer significant possibilities for e-commerce payments in developing markets.

In other findings, mobile handset penetration is rising faster than banking penetration in developing markets, meaning that mobile access is the best way for e-commerce and payments providers to reach potential users.