Remi de Fouchier, Gemalto

Close to half of consumers (48%) expect a mobile device to become their main form of identification by 2025 thanks to new technologies such as biometrics, with a single means of authentication to securely access online services, confirm transactions and sign documents, according to a global survey conducted by Gemalto.

It’s just one finding from the ‘Mobile Customer Experience’ report, which is based on research among almost 2,000 consumers in the USA, UK, Germany, France, China and Brazil. It revealed expectations across all aspects of the mobile experience, from the functionality of their devices to data privacy.

The survey also uncovered that 60% of respondents anticipate their smartphones will be able to exercise full autonomous control over their home devices such as heating, lighting, windows, without any human intervention in the management of the system. This hands-off approach, where devices take full control, would make the end user’s life more convenient, but require those devices to be trusted as reliable, secure and able to protect data privacy.

Smartphone specifications are expected to improve significantly by 2025. Consumers expect super-fast data speeds, with half (50%) estimating over 100 Gigabit speeds will be normal. 5G, the next major advance in mobile connectivity, could potentially deliver speeds of up to 12 Gigabits per second, so there is still some way to go to meet consumer expectations. However, consumers may no longer worry so much about speed in the future, since network slicing technology will allow autonomous networks to be designed around particular use cases, adapting the data rate, capacity, reliability and availability rates depending on usage.

Mobile payments have soared in recent years and the research suggests this trend will continue. By 2025, almost half (45%) expect to be able to use mobile devices to pay for anything, anywhere, at any time, and the same proportion (43%) consider mobile as their preferred payment method. Interestingly, there is still some reluctance to abandon cash all together, with a quarter of consumers (25%) stating they are unwilling to stop using it. There is clearly some work to be done by banks to increase the trust in non-cash payment methods and convince these consumers.

When it comes to data privacy, the research shows that end users are, in many cases, open to sharing some of their data as long as they get tangible benefits in return. 34% would be happy to receive deals and advice in real time via location tracking, while 28% are open to share their browsing history information or online purchases to be offered better deals. Nearly one in five (19%) expects the cost of mobile subscriptions and services to be offset by advertising, and almost one in 10 (8%) say they would be prepared to trade personal data in return for partial or full discounts on their bill. Data privacy does, however, remain a major concern with 38% of respondents stating they don’t want any company to have access to their personal data, with the over 50s demographic the most reluctant to share their personal data with third parties.

End user engagement with their mobile operators is also set to significantly change. The use of on-demand Artificial Intelligence (AI) is particularly interesting, with over a third of respondents (34%) believing this will be a possibility in the future, 28% already seeing their mobile operator as a digital assistant and 33% expecting a highly-personalised service from their mobile operator.

Remi de Fouchier, the vice president ofarketing for Mobile Services and IoT at Gemalto, said: “In many ways our lives have become a mobile experience and the research shows that mobile expectations will only grow in ambition, complexity and diversity in the years leading up to 2025. The next round of innovations in the mobile world – from integration with IoT devices to using smartphones as ID – will be key to how all industry stakeholders shape the future of mobile customer experience management. As the industry continues on the path towards the future, mobile network operators, OEMs, governments, and service and hardware providers will need to collaborate closely to meet customer expectations without compromising convenience or jeopardising privacy and security.”