Global Wearable Scanner Market 2016-2020

Global outlook of the wearable scanner market

Market research analysts at Technavio have predicted that the global wearable scanner market will grow steadily at a CAGR of about 4% by 2020. This market research analysis identifies the increased use of 2D barcodes like QR, Data Matrix, and PDF417 in industries such as transportation and logistics, retail, and healthcare as one of the primary factors that will have a positive impact on the growth of this market. QR codes or 2D codes can hold information both vertically and horizontally, thereby making it easy for barcode readers to get encrypted information at both the angles. A QR code can carry almost ten times more information than a 1D barcode and also allows industries to include a logo or picture to identify the product in a better way. PDF417 barcodes are primarily used in the transportation and healthcare sectors, whereas data matrix barcodes are used to mark small items and are used in the retail sector. 2D barcodes are durable, versatile, and less error-prone than 1D barcodes and also allow wearable barcode scanners to access data even when 30%-35% of the data areas are damaged.

Walmart, one of the major retailers announced its plans to open several new retail outlets in Africa and another major retailer Carrefour has formed a joint venture with a brand distribution company CFAO, to expand its operations in eight countries including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, and Nigeria. Additionally, other major retailers such as Metro and Tesco have also started focusing on expanding their presence in Africa and APAC. Since the retail sector is a major end-user for inventory scanning systems, this worldwide increase in the number of retail outlets will propel the demand for the market in the next four years.

Competitive landscape and key vendors