A new report from market analysis firm ABI Research forecasts that mobile commerce will account for $1.6 billion in revenues in 2009 as the proliferation of smartphones and consumers’ increasing comfort with mobile transactions translates into phone users making purchased via their handsets. But the so-called “holy grail” of mobile commerce—customers using their mobile phones to make on-site purchases without bugging staff or using a register—is still a pie-in-the-sky dream. Instead, consumers will be using their phones like mobile Web browsers, making purchases via the likes of Amazon, eBay, and iTunes using mobile data services and Internet connectivity.
