U.K. analyst firm Juniper Research has a released a new report that forecasts that the total redemption value of mobile coupons worldwide will be more than $43 billion by 2016. The report says that number represents an eightfold increase from $5.4 billion this year.

"Mobile coupons are going mainstream," said report author David Snow in a press release. "Cost effective mobile coupon campaigns are now within the reach of smaller retailers providing them with an easy way to drive profitable footfall and build customer loyalty."

Snow added, "To ignore the potential of mobile coupons would be to ignore the future of mobile commerce."

According to the report, mobile coupons are a key catalyst for the mobile commerce market, especially traditional brick-and-mortar retailers, and the report notes that mobile coupons are a part of almost every mobile wallet initiative.

The report also says that part of the importance of mobile coupons is the ability to target offers to consumers based on what the report calls "a holistic knowledge of the consumer's lifestyle, work patterns and real-time activity," including consideration for social network use and gaming.

The new analysis from Juniper also emphasizes that consumer opt-ins to mobile coupon programs are important to building customer loyalty in order to ensure that only relevant coupons are received.

Additionally, the Juniper report finds that:

• Mobile payment and mobile coupon integration is rare and "an untapped opportunity."
• Redemption rates for mobile coupons will rise in North America and Western Europe after a period of "experimentation and growing user acceptance."

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