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What is the market size (units), globally for barcode scanners?
Hello and thanks for your question on the size of the global barcode scanners market.
In short, the global barcode scanners market can be estimated at 11.66 million units valued at about US$ 1.45 billion. The market is divided into handheld barcode scanners, accounting for 73.8% of the market, and stationary barcode scanners making up 26.2% of the market. The leaders in this market are Honeywell, Zebra and Datalogic.
METHODOLOGY
To answer your question, I looked at various industry reports and articles that give information on the barcode scanners market. As you rightly noted, VDC Research is quite knowledgeable about this market and has provided some information on the market that is not protected behind pay-walls. I looked at the accessible VDC Research information and also looked at other industry research to extrapolate the size of the global barcode scanners market by value and volume.
Based on the assumptions made, the estimates of the market should be considered indicative.
Below are my findings:
BACKGROUND
Barcode scanning is a key technology in automatic data capture (ADC) and is used to help maintain data accuracy and inventory management. The barcode scanners market is divided into handheld and stationary scanners. Handheld scanners are mainly used in transportation, logistics, and manufacturing industries, while the stationary scanners are mainly used in the retail industry. The growth in the global barcode scanners market is driven by: “increased adoption of 2D barcodes, the need for accuracy in data capture and storage, and emerging demand for handheld and rugged industrial barcode scanners.”
ESTIMATE OF THE GLOBAL BARCODE SCANNERS MARKET BY VALUE
From a presentation in 2012, the global barcode scanners market was US$ 1.75 billion in 2010 and was forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.14% between 2012 and 2016. I made the assumption that the CAGR could also apply to 2011 and found the current market estimate to be US$ 2.5 billion (1.0614^6 x 1.75 billion). This estimate is close to the size forecast in 2011 given by VDC Research of US$ 2.04 billion.
However, these projections may have been a bit ambitious as proven from the recent information on the market size:
According to a recent report from VDC Research, the global stationary POS scanners market will grow 5% year over year from 2015 to 2016 and is to reach US$ 446.8 million by 2020. I could not find the specific CAGR to 2020 for this segment; however, the overall global barcode scanners is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.05% over the period 2014-2019. I made the assumption that this CAGR could also apply to this segment and could be extended to the market in 2020. Based on this, I calculated the estimate for the global stationary barcode scanners market as US$ 0.38 billion (0.45 billion/1.0405^4) in 2016.
VDC Research also states that the global market for handheld barcode scanners is to grow by 3.3% from 2015 to 2016 and a CAGR of 4.9% through 2020 to reach US$ 1.3 billion. This means that the market in 2016 can be estimated at US$ 1.07 billion (1.3 billion/1.049^4).
Since the barcode scanners market is made up of handheld and stationary scanners, then summing up the sizes of these two segments gives the overall market size as US$ 1.45 billion (1.07+0.38).
The discrepancy between the figures in the recent publications and those in the 2011/12 publications is perhaps explained by the fact that the global barcode scanners market was expected to decrease 0.4% annually during the recession to 2013.
ESTIMATE OF THE GLOBAL BARCODE SCANNERS MARKET BY VOLUME/UNITS
The non-retail barcode scanners market is expected to reach US$ 0.78 billion in 2018. In this article, the non-retail segment is also presented as the industrial segment. According to Technavio, the global market for industrial barcode scanners will grow by a CAGR of over 6% between 2016 and 2020. Therefore the non-retail/industrial barcode scanners market can be estimated at US$ 0.7 billion (0.78 billion/1.06^2) in 2016.
As calculated above, the global barcode scanners market estimate is US$ 1.45 billion. This means that the non-retail/industrial barcode scanners segment can be said to make 48.28% (0.7/1.45 x 100) of the global barcode scanners market.
The number of handheld and fixed/stationary barcode scanners for the non-retail barcode scanners market is expected to reach 6.3 million units in 2018. Assuming that the 6% CAGR by value equally applies to the volume market, then the non-retail/industrial barcode scanners market volume can be estimated at 5.63 million units (6.3 million/1.06^2) in 2016, and accounts for 48.28% of the overall market. Therefore, the overall global barcode scanners market can be estimated at 11.66 million units (5.63/48.28 x 100) in 2016.
BREAKDOWN OF THE GLOBAL BARCODE SCANNERS MARKET
1) Market Breakdown by Type of Barcode Scanner
Based on the market value estimates, the handheld barcode scanners market accounts for 73.8% of the overall market (1.07/1.45 x 100), while the stationary barcode scanners market makes up 26.2% (0.38/1.45 x 100).
2) Market Breakdown by Application
Barcode scanners are used in various verticals, including retail, industrial/manufacturing, healthcare, and transport/logistics. I was not able to find accessible data to give a comprehensive breakdown of the market by these verticals. However, from the market volume estimates, the non-retail/industrial segment – consisting of asset management, logistics, and authentication market - makes up 48.28% of the market, leaving the retail/non-industrial segment to account for 51.72%.
3) Market Breakdown by Technology
By technology, the 2D imagers’ segment accounts for a larger market share as compared to the other categories of laser scanners and linear imagers, and is expected to reach nearly 52% of the industrial barcode scanners market by 2020. VDC Researcg notes that, “2D imagers account for 59% of overall revenues in the handheld scanners market in 2016 up from only 12% in 2014.”
GROWTH TREND OF THE GLOBAL BARCODE SCANNERS MARKET VOLUME FROM 2014 -
Although the actual statistics on the sales volumes are protected behind pay-walls, accessible information from VDC Research shows that the volume of shipments in the larger handheld barcode scanners category is set to increase exponentially in the 2D imagers segment, relatively increase in the linear imagers segment and decrease in the laser scanner segment between 2014 and 2018. 2D imagers are expected to contribute to 57% of unit shipments in the global barcode scanners market by 2020.
Overall, the global barcode scanners market is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 4.05% between 2014 and 2019, and this can be seen as indicative of the past and expected growth in volume in the market. Of note is the market's decreased CAGR of 4.05% between 2014 and 2019, as compared to the CAGR of 6.14% between 2012 and 2016.
MAIN PLAYERS IN THE GLOBAL BARCODE SCANNERS MARKET The market leaders in the global barcode scanners market include: Honeywell, Zebra and Datalogic companies, and accounted for more than 73% of the handheld scanners market in 2015. Other players in the market include Aceeca, Advantech, and Bluebird.
CONCLUSION
From available information, I have extrapolated the global barcode scanners market value and volume to be about US$ 1.45 billion and 11.66 million units, respectively. The market is divided into handheld barcode scanners, worth US$ 1.07 billion accounting for 73.8% of the market, and stationary barcode scanners valued at about US$ 0.38 billion, making 26.2% of the market. In general, the global barcode scanners market is expected to grow driven by among other factors, a rise in global shipments in the 2D segment of the market. The key competitors in the market are Honeywell, Zebra, and Datalogic.
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