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MOBILE TRANSACTION PRINTER SHIPMENTS UP MORE THAN 25%
High-level trends specific to the mentioned form factors include: Wearable Units Ideal For Hands-On Applications, with many mobile transaction printer applications requiring input from a handheld computer before printing, wearable printers enable employees to have unrestricted hand movement to attend to the mobile computer or handling of a package/product. Cart-Based Printers Gaining Acceptance - the largest market for mobile workstations is the health care market, but few of these systems incorporate printing functionality. Recently, leading providers of mobile workstations such as Paxar, Powercart, and Infologix experienced increased demand from the retail supply chain for in-store, warehouse, and manufacturing applications. Road Warriors Turning to Vehicle-Mount Solutions, deliverymen, sales reps, insurance adjusters, and other workers that conduct the majority of their employment on the road are turning to vehicle-mount printers for on-the-road printing. However, the 'mount' definition of vehicle-mount is open to interpretation, as sales reps will use a portable or small desktop printer by leaving it in the seat of the car, while deliverymen and truck drivers have actual mounted units to the cab of the truck. According to VDC analyst Taylor Smith, 'The term 'mobile transaction printer' is often narrowly defined or perceived in the industry as a receipt-printing handheld or portable device. VDC classifies the market as printers capable of uninterrupted printing of all transactional processes such as bar code labels, invoices, tags/tickets, and other related documents while in transport. This opens the market to emerging cart-based solutions as well as vehicle-mount solutions that, while fixed to the vehicle, operate in a mobile environment. As the industry accepts the expanded scope, suppliers will realize that portable printers not only compete with other portable printers, but larger desktop units integrated into a mobile workstation.' Specialty stores significant growth opportunity for retail technology providers According to new research by Venture Development Corporation, The 2004 Retail Automation Equipment Vertical Market Analysis, retail automation penetration is only 39% for the North American specialty store market - leaving unserved market opportunities worth $5 billion. These figures are based off of seven key technology offerings: EAS, handheld scanners, mobile terminals, payment processing terminals, POS terminals, receipt printers, and stationary scanners and the average installation sizes per store location. High-level trends specific to the illustrated technologies include: High Level of Technology Investment in General Merchandise Sector, this is attributed to heavy dominance by a limited number of category killers such as Wal-Mart, Target, Sears, etc. Tier 1 companies operate nearly 70% of all stores, far more than any other sector, resulting in the high penetration rate as Tier 1 companies are often early adopters of technology. Increasing Pressure May Lead to Further Adoption in Health and Personal Care Market - Within the pharmaceutical industry, retailers can benefit from providing electronic tracking services, including medical/prescription histories, printouts for tax purposes, customer messages, education, and information about drug interactions. Furthermore, self-checkout terminals aid retailers in decreasing labor costs, give shoppers the perception of a faster checkout, and improve traffic at checkout lanes. Convenience Stores Continue to Trail Technology Adoption Cycle, only 25% of the potential market currently utilizing technology equipment. This trend is likely to continue as the small size of individual locations, small number of items purchased per customer, low volume of transactions per day, and limited investment funds for smaller organizations are primary factors against technology adoption. According to VDC analyst Taylor Smith, 'The specialty store segment is by far the largest retail sector in terms of number of store locations. However, unlike other sectors such as grocery or general merchandise, there are few category killers with smaller organizations controlling the lion's share of store locations. With small businesses reluctant to invest in automation technology, solution providers are left with the task to develop effective marketing strategies, pricing programs, and sales processes in order to capitalize on the market opportunity.'
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