Global EPOS Market on Road to Recovery
Annual Global EPOS and Self-Checkout study shows that market recovery has begun
The results of the 2010 edition of the annual Global EPOS and Self-Checkout study, published by RBR show that although the market for programmable electronic point-of-sale (EPOS) terminals was adversely affected by the economic recession in 2009, market recovery has already begun in many areas and is expected to continue steadily over the next few years.
RBR’s study shows that the number of EPOS terminals shipped worldwide fell by nearly a quarter to 1.2 million between 2008 and 2009. While the recession had a worldwide impact, it was felt most keenly in North America, which saw a 40% decline in programmable EPOS shipments in 2009 and fell from being the world’s largest region for shipments in 2008 to the third largest. Many of North America’s major retailers and hospitality operators abandoned or scaled back on new outlet openings and many also postponed terminal replacements, the latter having a greater impact on the market in absolute terms. Nevertheless, there are already signs that such trends are reversing.
Other regions fared better. For example, EPOS shipment numbers to the Asia-Pacific region more or less stabilised in 2009. China was almost singlehandedly responsible for keeping shipment numbers to the region steady. Indeed, some domestic Chinese EPOS vendors claim not to have suffered any tangible effects from the economic crisis at all during the year. Shipments to the country actually grew in 2009 by 17%, and going forward China promises to be the powerhouse behind EPOS market growth in the region. India, too, has excellent growth prospects, but the lifting of the government’s restrictions on foreign direct investment and the introduction of fiscalisation may be needed to act as a catalyst.
The report also predicts that while the market has been significantly impacted by the economic downturn, by 2015 it will have sufficiently recovered that global EPOS terminal shipments will exceed the two million mark, an increase of 70% on the 2009 figure (and 32% on the 2008 figure). In Asia Pacific, shipments are forecast to increase by 61%, while Western Europe and North America will grow by 43% and 103% respectively over the same period. In comparison, the market for EPOS shipments to the three smaller regions is likely to have doubled in size by 2015 compared to 2009.
In terms of installations, 9.65 million programmable EPOS terminals had been installed by the end of 2009, up by just 5% on the previous year – the lowest rate of growth on record. North America, Western Europe and Asia-Pacific account for nearly 90% of the global total.
