Manufacturers in the printers and scanners markets are under pressure to deliver one-stop solutions for retailers seeking to provide customers the ultimate shopping experience, and operational efficiency is what will mark the leaders, according to Frost & Sullivan.
     The ability of POS printer and scanner makers to meet the increasing demand for operational efficiency and functionality at the point-of-sale (POS) is going to be a key competitive factor in the retail printer market, according to the new ''World Printer and Scanner Markets'' analysis from Frost & Sullivan, which revealed that revenues in this market totalled US$543.1 million in 2004, and are projected to reach some US$1,360 million in 2011. 116.30.197.100 This article is copyright 2005 UsingRFID.com.

Retailer demand
     "The increasing demand from retailers has made the printers and scanners markets highly competitive," says Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Shyam K. "As a result cutting-edge technology is taking top priority and is compelling manufacturers to strategically innovate their products right from the designing stage."

     Multi function printers (MFPs) and mobile printers in particular are likely to offer an opportunity to increase revenues significantly. RFID scanners are also expected to be a success and contribute to the overall growth of the total retail scanner markets, despite doubts regarding the readiness of the markets in shifting to one-stop RFID scanners.

     "With the markets expected to use item-level tagging and RFID only as testing technologies by interfacing them with bar-coding, RFID scanners are likely to see a slow adoption over time, rather than an immediate increase in uptake," explains Shyam.

RFID scanner uptake
     RFID scanners are likely to find many takers across countries in the Asia Pacific region where there is a low penetration of POS terminals. In fact, India, China, Sri Lanka and other Asia Pacific nations are offering new growth opportunities to manufacturers as markets in North America and Europe reach maturity.

     But while manufacturers can generate demand for their technically sophisticated products from top-tier retailers across all regions, the prohibitive prices are keeping these printers and scanners out of the reach of most middle- and low-end retailers that form a major portion of the markets. "In the future, in order to increase revenues across all end-user segments, manufacturers will have to achieve the optimum balance between price and technology," concluded Shyam.

     The World Printer and Scanner Markets analysis is part of the Frost & Sullivan 9212 subscription, and analyses the world markets for printers and scanners, segmenting them into retail stationary and mobile printers and RFID and barcode scanners. It also discusses the various market trends and opportunities while providing in-depth analysis of market share, forecasts, drivers, restraints and revenues.

 

 

 

 

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