Consumers worldwide will conduct some $300 billion worth of mobile payment transactions for physical and digital goods by 2013, says a new study from Juniper Research. Because of this, the firm forecasts a strong future for the systems, software and services that enable the transaction services, according to a Telecoms.com report on the research.

Juniper expects mobile ticketing services to account for some 40% of the mobile transaction total, driven by consumer purchases of train, plane and bus tickets as well as tickets to sports and entertainment happenings.

The Far East and Western Europe will be the leading markets, representing a combined 60% of the transaction total by 2013, not surprising since the purchase of physical goods over the mobile Web is already fairly common in those markets.

Juniper analyst Howard Wilcox says that retailers need to consider the benefits of using the mobile Web as a fourth commerce channel and "be mindful of the success of regular e-commerce sites in generating sales. They need to move quickly to exploit the opportunity presented, and ensure that they maintain ease of use for their customers who are already familiar with Web shopping from their PCs," he said.