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Digital commerce grows,
Latin America, Asia lead,
Cards no longer king.

Global digital commerce spend to surge by 65% by 2029: Juniper Research
A new study from Juniper Research predicts a significant growth in global digital commerce spend, forecasting a 65% increase from $23 trillion in 2024 to $34 trillion by 2029.
The research suggests that this growth will be primarily driven by the Latin America and Asia Pacific regions, which are witnessing increasing access to eCommerce as infrastructure develops and the availability of local payment methods grows.
The study includes data splits for digital commerce spend within digital money transfer, digital and physical goods purchases, digital ticketing purchases, banking, NFC payments and QR code payments. The research argues that success in emerging markets is vital to global growth for international digital commerce platforms, as eCommerce in developed countries is becoming increasingly saturated.
The rate of growth in value will be 241% higher in Latin America than in North America between 2024 and 2029, representing a major opportunity. The study urges digital commerce platforms to support more local payment methods, such as local digital wallets and account-to-account (A2A) payments, rather than solely relying on card payments. This will enable platforms to tap into emerging markets' growth specifically, as this is heavily tied to enabling access to large populations who lack access to cards.
"Cards have powered the emergence and establishment of the digital commerce sector in key developed markets, but international merchants must look beyond cards to capitalise on this next phase of growth. As even developed markets look to implement A2A payments within eCommerce, embracing local payment methods must be a clear priority in all markets," said Research author at Juniper Research, Nick Maynard.