Barcode Scanner Market

Increasing use of barcode scanners in the healthcare sector is fuelling the growth of the barcode scanner market in North America

Barcode scanners are being increasingly adopted in every aspect of the healthcare industry. According to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies (IMNA), most of the medical errors caused in a hospital during the stay of a patient are due to improper medication, which in turn is a result of wrong diagnosis resulting in loss of life. Hence, hospitals these days prefer a computer prescribed database to feed the updated information of a patient. Through the use of barcode scanners, every possible error can be rectified. Tracking exact patient records and reducing drug-related mistakes during a patient’s hospital stay becomes easy. This has led to an increase in demand for barcode scanners in North America.

Use of barcode scanners is rapidly growing in the retail and manufacturing industries in North America. Barcode scanners have become one of the best solutions for product information capturing. Retailers worldwide use barcodes for hassle-free recording of supplies and commodities. Barcodes imprinted on labels are pasted on products, which help in recording information regarding product count, date of manufacturing, date on which the product was supplied to the retailer, selling price, etc. When these products are scanned, the information is retrieved and monitored.

This entire process, which is completed within a few seconds, not only increases efficiency but also minimises errors. This has helped retailers record their products and inventory on shop floors and warehouses. Major retailers such as Walmart, Carrefour, Costco and IKEA put barcodes on all their products. This in turn is driving the growth of the barcode scanner market in North America.

Extensive application of barcode scanners is a new trend in North America

Barcoding is widely adopted in all regions; however, each region adopts different technologies and systems for barcoding. Implementation of barcodes in products was first initiated in the U.S. when a barcode was printed on a pack of chewing gum in the early 1950’s. Currently, barcoding has become a norm as far as information tracking and recording of products is concerned. North America has adopted high-end barcode scanners such as cordless scanners, rugged scanners, omni-directional scanners and stationary scanners in multiple industries.

The growth rate of barcode scanner technologies such as CCD and pen type reader is lesser when compared to other technologies implemented in this region. Another trend is the development of dedicated barcode scanners for specific applications such as barcode scanners for usage in hospitals and theme park admission tickets.

Portable/Handheld segment by product type is expected to hold significant value share over the forecast period in the North America barcode scanner market

The portable/handheld segment (includes rugged, cordless, automatic, PDA and other scanners) is estimated to be pegged at 5,164,760 units in 2017 and is projected to increase at a CAGR of 5.7% over the forecast period. By technology, the camera based reader segment is projected to gain 430 basis points during the forecast period due to increasing demand from the retail and manufacturing sectors in North America. The healthcare end-use segment is projected to gain more than 350 basis points during the forecast period due to increasing demand for barcode scanners in hospitals in North America.

Market segmentation

By Product Type

• Portable/Handheld
  • Rugged Scanners
  • PDA Scanners
  • Automatic Readers
  • Others
• Fixed Position
  • Stationary Scanners
  • Presentation Scanners
  •  Automatic Readers
  • Others

By End Use

• Retail & Commercial
• General Manufacturing
• Healthcare
• Logistics & Warehouse
• Commercial Aviation
• Defence
• Others

By Technology

• Pen Type Reader
• Laser Scanner
• CCD (Charge Coupled Device) Readers
• Camera Based Reader
• Omni Directional Barcode Scanner
• Smartphone Based Scanner
• RFID (Radio Frequency Identification)Technology

By Region

• North America
• Latin America
• Western Europe
• Eastern Europe
• APEJ
• Japan
• MEA