After its initial launch in 2010, NFC-enabled smartphones will contribute to 28 percent
of total smartphone sales to end users (250 million units) by 2015, according
to Pyramid Research.
Mobile handsets that are NFC-capable will see skyrocketing sales in 2011 and 2012,”
said Stela Bokun, mobile devices practice leader at Pyramid.
These sales will be driven by the overwhelming supply of NFC-enabled
smartphones that will hit the market in the next two years, as well as service
providers’ ‘push’ marketing strategies across the globe.”
As the NFC ecosystem rapidly evolves, there will be an abundant supply of other NFC
devices, in addition to NFC-enabled handsets. To trigger sales, equipment vendors
will have to convince their users (mostly retailers) that the benefit from
NFC-based services will outweigh the cost of investment,” Bokun added.
Over the next five years, as high-impact partnerships and profitable business models
emerge, NFC-based services will become ubiquitous, consistent and secure. That will ultimately
create sustainable demand for NFC-enabled devices, including handsets. The
current abundance of business models will eventually yield a healthy NFC
ecosystem, despite the initial hiccups.
The majority of demand for NFC-enabled devices will come from Asia/Pacific, Western
Europeand North America. Around 89 percent of the total NFC-enabled handset unit sell-through
will come from these three regions in 2015. The high quality and convenience of
the new NFC-based services, and the emergence of a healthy NFC ecosystem, will
stimulate sustainable long-term demand for NFC-enabled handsets.
To get ahead of the game, mobile operators should create partnerships with credit
cards and banks immediately. Followed by aggressive campaigns convincing end
users that they stand to benefit from NFC-enabled services, without end-user
buy-in, all efforts will be in vain.
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