Denny |
November 20, 2012
Report highlights the growth of the NFC market
MarketsandMarkets, a leading mar
ket research publication, has published a new report titled “Near Field Communication (NFC) Market — Global Forecast & Analysis.” The report highlights the various trends that surround the NFC market and predicts the growth that the technology will see between the 2011 to 2016 period. The report covers a wide range of aspects in the NFC market, such as NFC applications, reading technologies, electronic ticketing, mobile marketing, and mobile commerce.
NFC market expected to see CAGR of 38% through 2016
According to the report, the global NFC market is expected to see a compound annual growth rate of 38% between 2011 and 2016. The NFC applications market alone is expected to reach more than $10 billion by the end of 2016. The report also notes that NFC technology will continue to see significant attention in the realm of mobile commerce. This is largely due to the fact that much of mobile commerce hinges on the capabilities of NFC technology.
Marketing may play a major role in growth
NFC has begun to attract a great deal of attention beyond the mobile commerce space. The technology has, in the past, been used in mobile marketing as a way to engage consumers. NFC is seeing more interest in this field as consumers become more familiar with the technology. The marketing industry is expected to add a significant amount of momentum to the NFC market. The technology is also proficient in facilitating data transfer and managing security access protocols, two additional sectors which are growing more popular throughout the world.
Consumers still leery of mobile commerce
The majority of growth the NFC market will see is expected to occur in the mobile applications space, especially in regards to mobile commerce platforms. These mobile applications allow consumers to make purchases using their smart phones and other NFC-enabled devices. The most significant challenges that could slow growth or derail it entirely remain in the fields of security and the scarcity of NFC-enabled mobile devices. Low availability and lackluster security features have left many consumers leery of the NFC market and its applications.
Google confronted with the problems of NFC technology
Despite the growing popularity surrounding mobile commerce, NFC technology has hit a rough patch in the global community. Mobile commerce relies heavily on NFC technology in order to function adequately. While the technology has proven very capable of facilitating mobile payments, it has run afoul of security groups and consumers who consider the technology to be a liability to their financial information. Google is one of the many companies that has invested heavily into NFC technology and now has to confront the question of whether they will be able to find profit in doing so.
Google Wallet has yet to impress consumers
NFC technology has seen a great deal of success amongst businesses. The technology has attracted investments and support largely because of its potential in the realm of mobile commerce. NFC often finds a home in mobile applications called mobile wallets. These platforms enable consumers with smart phones and other mobile devices to make payments using the financial information stored by the platform. Last year, Google launched the Google Wallet, which brought NFC-based mobile payments to a wide range of consumers. The platform was not well received by many, however.
Security fumbles at launch leave consumers leery
Google Wallet was plagued with problems at its launch. The platform even fell victim to simple “brute force” hacking, which could have put the financial information of consumers at serious risk. Google has since bolstered the security features of its mobile commerce platform, but the company’s initial security blunders cost it the favor of many consumers. Consumers around the world have begun showing a great deal of reluctance concerning mobile commerce, largely because of the lackluster security they are seeing from he companies involved in the burgeoning industry.
Google has time to see success from Wallet platform
Google has not yet seen return on its investment in the Google Wallet. The company has a profit margin of 22% and an operating margin of 28%, so Google has some time to spare before it has to take action and address the performance of the mobile commerce platform. Google Wallet is not the only venture in mobile commerce that Google is currently involved in, but it may become the company’s flagship if it can overcome the problems it is facing.
