According to new data from Parks Associates (www.parkassociates.com), 48% of U.S. smartphone owners currently use apps heavily for daily information and entertainment, while 15% use the phone to order food and 12% use it to shop for physical goods.

"Consumers are still concerned about the security of mobile payments, but these issues are less of a barrier for younger consumers -- over 60% of users 18-24 have made a mobile purchase in the past 30 days," says Jennifer Kent, Parks Associates mobile analyst. "The industry can employ non-payment offerings to show more consumers the benefits of mobile commerce, and as payment security standards improve, consumers' comfort level with mobile payments will rise."

By 2015, 84% of mobile subscribers in North America and 88% in Western Europe will be smartphone users. "Mobile payments in emerging markets pose enormous revenue potential for mobile carriers," says Harry Wang, Park Associates' director of Health & Mobile Research. "Segments of this market are diverse now, but all major players are planning for a converged future where one digital wallet can be used for in-person retail payments and remote online payments on any CE platform."