By Rieva Lesonsky
Normally in this space I give you the scoop on a hot business or trend. This week, however, I want to tell you about a different type of trend.
If you’ve been paying even a little attention, you knew this was coming. According to a Business Insider Intelligence report, mobile payments are about to grow exponentially.
Specifically, the report covers “mobile proximity payments,” which are payments for goods and services made over mobile devices in bricks-and-mortar establishments.
I’ve seen other reports offering similar forecasts, so this is not wild-eyed speculation. In fact, the surge is already underway, though Business Insider says, “while mobile payments are growing quickly, they won’t really account for substantial volume until 2016.”
Last year $1.8 billion in mobile proximity payments were made. BI Intelligence expects this to grow at a compound rate of 153 percent, hitting $190 billion in 2018.
This means less than four years from now customers and clients will be walking into your stores, salons, bars and restaurants expecting to be able to pay via their smartphones or tablets. If you want to stay in business, you need to get mobile savvy now.
Rieva Lesonsky is CEO of GrowBiz Media, a media and custom content company focusing on small business and entrepreneurship. Email Rieva at rieva@smallbizdaily.com, follow her on Google+ and Twitter.com/Rieva and visit her website, SmallBizDaily.com, to get the scoop on business trends and sign up for Rieva’s free TrendCast reports.
