The global retail Point-Of-Sale (POS) terminals market is anticipated to record a CAGR of 8.6% and reach a valuation of US$ 847.4 Billion by the end of 2030. The promising growth prospects of the market are supported by the rapid shift of customers and retail businesses toward online sales transactions. Point-of-sale terminals allow retailers to keep better track of orders, sales, and transactions thanks, which reduces the stress caused by undertaking administrative tasks using legacy systems and manual pen and paper solutions. 

Retailers are rapidly transitioning to modern point-of-sales systems as customers demand quick and more efficient payment choices, especially when shopping in bulk. Advanced systems enable retailers to handle a large number of client payments in less time. As per the data released by the United States Department of Commerce, in the U.S., consumers spent US$ 870.78 billion on online purchases in 2021, up by 14.2% from the year before.

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Some Recent Strategies Acquired by Key Players:

• Shopify's marketing and sales climbed by US$ 299.5 billion by the end of December 2021, which led to greater spending on marketing and sales to support business growth.
• Shopify invests in developing tools to make it easier for their ecosystem partners to build on, as well as for Shopify to extend the platform's functionality and flexibility. Shopify claims that by broadening the scope of solutions provided, providing new and improved ways for merchants to market, sell, and deliver their goods to customers, as well as broadening the capabilities of their current set of solutions.
• In June 2022, Verifone and Affirm announced a partnership, making Affirm's open and flexible payment choices widely accessible on Verifone's e-commerce and card-present payment systems. The customer or the cashier would decide whether to use Affirm at the POS while shopping.
• Lightspeed purchased NuORDER, a revolutionary digital network that links buyers and sellers. This acquisition solidified Lightspeed's position as a major brand's global distribution network, advancing the Lightspeed Supplier Network to make product ordering for retailers simpler and giving suppliers vital information about how their items are moving. They instantly link suppliers and customers to see and serve various regions.

Factors supporting the retail point-of-sale (POS) terminal market growth: 

Increasing need for better and centralized management of stores

Inventory management has a significant impact on the company's expenses and has a direct impact on customer satisfaction and brand value. POS systems are essential for effective inventory control. POS devices feature interactive tools that guard retailers against inventory mismanagement and subpar product delivery, such as timely updates on inventory, alerts about low inventories, and other reporting tools. The largest expense for retailers is inventory. Retailers in the U.S. keep US$ 1.35 worth of merchandise on hand for every dollar they spend. The businesses invest anywhere between 20%-60% in their inventory. Hence, the retail POS terminal plays an important role in store management. 

Rising shift toward a cashless economy:

According to Square, a financial technology startup, in 2020, there were 23% more cashless establishments in the U.S., 39% more in Canada, and 50% more in the UK compared to 2019. China is quickly moving toward a cashless economy. China's digital yuan trials accounted for US$ 8.3 billion of the country’s payments market in late 2021 and US$ 13.68 billion from 2019 to 2021. The Government of India's flagship initiative for a cashless society is the Digital India program. The government has taken measures such as demonetization and the Direct Benefit Transfer Scheme to accelerate the move to a digital economy. 

Factors restraining market growth

Technological challenges and security concerns of using POS terminal

Cybersecurity poses a serious risk to businesses in every sector today, including retail. A growing amount of data is being stored on and transferred between cloud computing systems. POS systems are one of the most exposed points in a business network from the perspective of digital security. 

According to a report by Colortokens, a provider of cybersecurity solutions:

• POS downtime costs retailers an average of US$ 4,700 per minute.
• 89% of all breaches are caused by a POS intrusion
• 9 out of 10 data breaches recorded in hotels & restaurants affected a POS

The numerous data breaches and security vulnerabilities related to POS have occurred in recent years prove that POS systems are vulnerable and can be targeted by attackers. Attackers steal sensitive and private data, including credit or debit card information, via point-of-sale software.

Trends in the retail POS terminal market

Rising trend of omnichannel shopping apps and autonomous stores

The rising competition in the e-commerce sector and consumer demand for on-demand services are encouraging retail companies to establish efficient omnichannel supply chains. Retailers can track and manage their goods and payments with the use of a robust omnichannel POS system while also improving the shopping experience of customers. Retailers can link their brand website, physical shop locations, and third-party marketplaces to their inventory and sales using an omnichannel shopping solution and offer their customers a seamless, holistic shopping experience. 

In 2021, numerous supermarkets opened stores with a checkout-less option for customers, which sped up the adoption of autonomous store technologies. As shops begin to identify the favorable effects of such solutions on both sales and resource utilization, this trend is expected to continue in 2022 as well. For instance, in June 2022, the German supermarket chain operator REWE Group collaborated with Trigo, an Israeli computer vision company that offers innovative checkout solutions for the retail sector, to launch their second autonomous grocery shop in Germany. Furthermore, Dirbato Co., Ltd. invested in a startup, Standard AI, which is expected to bring revolution in the retail industry. On 11th November 2021, Dirbato collaborated with Circle K, Compass Group, and other major retailers to launch a number of AI-powered retail shops in the U.S. The company plans to open more outlets throughout the world in 2022 in cooperation with its retail partners.

Covid-19 impact on the global retail POS terminal market

POS terminals are utilized in a variety of retail businesses, including apparel, electronics, pet supplies, home decor, sporting goods, packaged goods, restaurants, and jewelry stores. The COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted global manufacturing operations as well as business activities in industries such as financial, hospitality and tourism, consumer durables, and electronics. Lockdowns and social distancing measures affected the business of shops with physical storefronts more than online retailers, causing a significant decline in the revenues of retail, hotel, and hospitality sectors, among others. As per the study, the global retail and hospitality industries witnessed losses of about US$3.39 billion and US$ 2.15 billion, respectively. 

The Office of National Statistics (UK) reported that the overall retail sales volumes decreased by 1.9% in 2020 compared to 2019—the biggest yearly decline ever. Clothing and fuel sales dropped to negative 21.5% and negative 22.2%, respectively, in 2020 and remain below pre-pandemic levels. 

Market Segmentation

By Product Analysis

The portable POS terminals segment is anticipated to register the highest CAGR of 9.5% over the forecast period. Leading factors driving demand for portable POS terminals include the growing use of wireless payment terminals by merchants, the rising popularity of MasterCard, EuroPay, and Visa (EMV) cards, a sharp rise in e-commerce and cashless transactions worldwide, and the increasing adoption of wireless technology in mobile phones and wearables. Moreover, the portable POS terminals segment is expected to reach US$ 520 billion by 2030; the fixed POS terminal segment holds an opportunity cost of US$ 115.6 billion during the forecast period. 

By Component Analysis

The software segment held the highest market share of 72.5% in 2021 and is expected to register a CAGR of 8.7% over the forecast period. This growth can be attributed to the simplicity of sales analysis, diverse capabilities, and data support features offered by POS terminals in the retail setup. The market features specialized software available for a variety of functions, including inventory management, accounting, and transaction alerts. The ease of software integration offered by these systems with devices such as screen terminals and barcode scanners, which provide backup capabilities and data restoring, could also promote market expansion.

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 By Industry Analysis

The retail segment dominated in terms of market revenue share in 2021. Many stores are shifting to easier/simple transaction methods to avoid large waiting lines and transaction delays. Merchants are fusing POS systems with merchandising, inventory, marketing, and Consumer Relationship Management (CRM) data to deliver individualized, interactive, and differentiated customer experiences. 

The global retail industry is expected to register a CAGR of 9.4% over the forecast period. Despite the intense competition faced by grocery retailers, many supermarket chains use technology to make their tasks easier. A POS system facilitates the management of food stores and speeds up checkouts. A grocery store software helps improve efficiency and cater to customer needs more efficiently.

By Regional Analysis

The Asia Pacific region accounted for the highest market share of nearly 51.5% in 2021 and is anticipated to register the highest CAGR of 9.6% over the forecast period. The region's growing appetite for POS terminals is a result of government initiatives to promote a cashless society. The expanding use of digital payment methods in countries like Japan, China, and India has given rise to numerous growth opportunities for mobile POS players. However, the demand from major companies for fixed POS terminals to protect their corporate information and ensure the efficient processing of vast volumes of customer data is promoting the segment growth.

List of Key Companies Profiled:

• Shopify Inc.
• PayPal Zettle
• Square
• Lightspeed
• Clover
• Sumup
• Aptos (Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division)
• Cegid Group
• Ctac NV
• NCR Corporation
• Flooid
• Diebold Nixdorf
• Fujitsu Ltd
• Infor Inc.
• NEC Corporation
• Qashier PTE Ltd
• Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Toshiba Corporation
• VeriFone, Inc.
• Other Prominent Players

Key Industry Players

The global retail POS terminal market is observed to have a highly competitive landscape, with the top four players collectively accounting for nearly 47.5% of the market in 2021, and a major chunk acquired by small-scale companies. The major players in the retail POS terminal market are Verifone, Ingenico, BBPOS, and PAX among others. To strengthen their hold on the market, leading market players are adopting strategies such as making omnichannel commerce simple for merchants, delivering a consistent brand experience, offering cloud-based services, securing digital connections, and delivering best-in-class hardware, global market insights, and local payment expertise.

Key Industry Developments

• August 2021: Shopify launched All-New POS Pro software for Android devices and launched integrated retail hardware with payments to retail merchants in Germany and New Zealand.
• May 2022: PayPal's small-business POS brand, Zettle, has launched a software POS (softPOS) solution for merchants in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Sweden. SoftPOS enables merchants to accept contactless payments using existing hardware, allowing them to meet changing consumer payment habits without incurring additional hardware costs.
• May 2022: The breakthrough new retail commerce platform Lightspeed Retail, from Lightspeed Commerce Inc., combines cuttingedge POS, payments, and e-commerce into a single, effective solution. Lightspeed Retail is the ideal commerce platform for assisting company owners in elevating their strategy while handling the difficult problems of the changing retail industry. It does this by utilising the power of headless commerce, strong integrations, and a fully revamped UI. With integrated cross-channel selling and intricate multi-store inventory management, the new Lightspeed Retail unleashes the power of headless commerce to meet customers where they like to shop across North America, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, the UK, and South Africa.

Segmental Overview of the Retail POS Terminal Market

(Note*: We also provide granular level reports, made to sub-segment level or only for niche segments. Contact us, if you require more details.)

By Product 

• Fixed POS Terminal
• Portable POS Terminal
  • Mobile POS (mPOS)
• Self-Service Kiosks

By Component

• Hardware
• Software
  • Cloud-Based POS System
  • On-Premises POS System
• Services

By Industry

• Entertainment
• Hospitality
  • Hotels
  • Restaurants & Cafes
  • QSR
• Retail
  • Supermarkets /Hypermarkets
  • Convenience Stores
• Healthcare
  • Hospitals
  • Pharmacy
• e-Commerce

By Region 

• North America
  • U.S.
  • Canada
  • Mexico
• Europe
  • UK
  • Germany
  • France
  • Italy
  • Spain
  • Poland
  • Russia
• Asia Pacific
  • China
  • Taiwan
  • India
  • Japan
  • Australia & New Zealand
  • ASEAN
  • Rest of Asia Pacific
• Middle East & Africa (MEA)
  • UAE
  • Saudi Arabia
  • South Africa
  • Rest of MEA
• South America
  • Brazil
  • Argentina
  • Rest of South America