The global barcode printers market is expected to reach USD 3.81 billion by 2020, according to a new study by Grand View Research, Inc. Increased demand for mobile barcode printers is expected to drive market growth over the forecast period. Implementation of bar-coded wristbands for personal identification in hospitals and events has augmented the demand for mobile barcode printers.
Growth of organized retail stores worldwide has significantly driven the barcode printers market, as products equipped with barcode tags enable faster and more efficient check-outs. Growing adoption of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) may pose a challenge to market growth over the next six years owing to the numerous advantages offered by the technology, such as dynamic storage of information which can be updated periodically.
Further key findings from the study suggest:
- Industrial printers dominated the barcode printers market in 2013, accounting for over 60% of the overall revenue share. Mobile printers are expected to witness high growth over the forecast period owing to their ease of use and utility in numerous field-based applications; they have been increasingly used by organizations’ salespeople in order to conduct business and issue authentic invoices and receipts irrespective of the time and place.
- Thermal technology based printers accounted for over 60% of the market share as compared to their non-thermal counterparts, primarily because of their reliability, high speed, low noise and provision for easy cleaning. Among thermal technology based printers, the direct thermal technology is expected to witness significant growth over the forecast period owing to enhanced durability, low operational costs and elimination of the need for disposing used ink ribbons, making it more eco-friendly.
- Manufacturing applications led the market in 2013, accounting for over 35% of the overall revenue. Retail and healthcare are expected to be lucrative fields for the barcode printers market over the forecast period, with both projected to witness high growth rates. In healthcare, barcode printers have been extensively used for printing tags used in patient ID systems in order to prevent medical errors by enabling access to accurate patient information for surgical procedures and specimen collection.
- North America dominated the market in 2013, accounting for over 40% of the overall revenue. Asia Pacific is expected to witness high growth rate over the forecast period.
- The market has become increasingly consolidated owing to significant mergers and acquisitions in order to achieve growth across several product categories, verticals, and regions; for instance Honeywell’s acquisition of Intermec and SATO’s acquisition of Argox. Vendors have to deal with low profit margins owing to the highly commoditized nature of the market.
