Retail Automation Market

Retail Automation has emerged as an advancement which is revolutionizing the retail industry, throughout the globe. Several businesses and trades are driven by the retail industry, and Retail Automation is influencing these trades in making better profit margins, and bringing enhanced efficacy to the transactions happening in the retail industry. Retail Automation, as considered under the scope of the report, is adopted across various industries in order to provide enhanced shopping experience to the end-users, in retail and e-commerce shopping. Besides this, technological developments and substantial availability and usage of smart devices in shopping are other factors impelling the growth of the global Retail Automation market, in terms of value. The Global Retail Automation market is estimated to be valued at US$ 8,770 Mn by the end of 2016, and is expected to expand in the coming years at a CAGR of 11.7% in terms of value during the forecast period. The global Retail Automation market is expected to represent a high incremental opportunity between 2017 and 2027.

Automated services in the retail sector are enhancing the customer experience, thus bringing-in more revenues in the Retail Automation market. Some of the critical inclinations powering the overall Retail Automation market include visual retailing, retail space planning, customer data analytics, and retail inventory analytics. Multiple retail giants are adopting Retail Automation technologies, with an intention to improve their customer experience, thus driving the Retail Automation market. Retail Automation nowadays is not restricted only to shopping malls and major retail chains, but is gaining admiration from the local retail stores as well. Automated retail stores and supermarkets in local areas are slowly becoming a preference for customers, fuelling the Retail Automation market. Furthermore, adoption of advanced technologies, transitioning consumer spending behaviour for enhanced customer experience, and increasing economic growth of the developing economies of South East Asia and Middle East & Africa is driving the overall Retail Automation market.

Segment Analysis:

On the basis of product type, the global Retail Automation market can be segmented into manned POS terminal (fixed POS terminal, mobile POS terminal, and contactless POS terminal), and unattended terminals (Kiosk/Vending Machine, and Self-Checkout System). The manned POS terminal segment is expected to account for a sizable share of the overall Retail Automation market in 2017, but is expected to foresee a decrease in the growth rate yearly, due to the embellishment of unattended terminals by the end of the forecast period. One of the important factor for this drift is the considerably high growth rate of the kiosks/vending machine sub-segment in the Retail Automation market. Self-checkout systems sub-segment is also expected to foresee considerably high adoption, and is expected to follow the kiosks/vending machine sub-segment in the Retail Automation market. Such high growth rates are primarily driven by the transformation in the customer shopping preference and high preference given to smart device enabled retail shopping.

On the basis of industry, the global Retail Automation market can be segmented into FMCG, health and personal care, apparel and footwear, hospitality, consumer electronics, travel and logistics, oil & gas, and others. The growth of the Retail Automation market is predominantly driven by the FMCG industry, followed by hospitality. Several supermarkets and hypermarkets in developed countries are adopting the Retail Automation technologies such as motorized transport units that assist the customers in inventory management and product delivery to customers. Such developments in reference to the FMCG industry are impacting the overall Retail Automation market in a positive manner.

Regional Analysis:

On the basis of geographical regions, the Retail Automation market is segmented across North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, APEJ, Japan, and MEA. The North America Retail Automation market holds a major value share in the global Retail Automation market and is likely to maintain its dominance in the global Retail Automation market during the forecast period. The Retail Automation market in the region is projected to represent a significant incremental opportunity between 2017 and 2027. Retail Automation market in North America is pre-dominantly organized, and FMCG is the major industry. North American Retail Automation market is currently showcasing the development of retail automation technologies such as motorized transport units to assist the customers in their shopping, and also helps in inventory management. For instance, Wal-Mart patented a "motorized transport unit" system that can attach to shopping carts, enabling them to drive and dock themselves. These motorized units may potentially be used to move containers; scan, retrieve, and deliver products; check inventory; retrieve trash; and even connect with customers. North America is expected to be followed by Western Europe in the Retail Automation market, in terms of revenues generated. Western Europe is implementing retail automation technologies in healthcare sector as well, which is further improving the quality and consistency in the healthcare industry. Automation in the areas of medical records, order entry, decision support, and medicine dispensing to patients are few of the applications of Retail Automation in the Western European region. The sales of Retail Automation in Western Europe market is projected to represent a total incremental opportunity of US$ 2,916 Mn, while the Japan Retail Automation market is also expected to witness significant growth. Owing to the advantages associated with Retail Automation, and a demand for an enhanced customer experience, a high traction of Retail Automation is expected during the forecast period, especially in developing countries such as India, China, etc. The APEJ region is expected to present attractive opportunities for Retail Automation manufacturers during the forecast period, and is estimated to expand at a significant CAGR in terms of value.

Competitive Analysis:

Vendors in the Retail Automation market are now focusing on introducing advanced technologies to enhance customer experience in the retail sector. Examples of some of the Retail Automation market vendors in this study of the Global Retail Automation market include Diebold Nixdorf, NCR Corporation, Datalogic S.p.A., Fujitsu, First Data Corporation, Toshiba Corporation, Verifone, Posiflex Technology, Ingenico Group, and Honeywell International Inc.

Vendors are continuously innovating their Retail Automation solutions to penetrate the technology influenced market. In August 2016 Lowe's Companies, Inc. that operates a chain of retail home improvement and appliance stores introduced a personal assistant robot, called LoweBot, a NAVi autonomous retail service robot to assist customers, with Retail Automation. Many such vendors are providing robots to retail stores to assist the customers. These robots not only help in guiding the customers but also in managing the back-end inventory, facilitating the Retail Automation market. In February 2017, NCR Corporation introduced NCR ENCOR, to provide a store management solution for small and medium sized retailers in North America. NCR ENCOR, being a Retail Automation solution provides point of sale, front office and back office functionality and security and versatility for an enhanced consumer experience in the retail sector.  Many vendors in the Retail Automation market are focusing on collaborations, mergers and acquisitions in order to improve their product offerings, distribution capabilities, and to expand customer base. With respect to Retail Automation, in June 2017, Diebold Nixdorf collaborated with Samsung to eliminate the need of card/PIN and enable card-less mobile transactions. Diebold Nixdorf adopted Samsung’s SDS Nexsign, enabling facial recognition, to provide a secure card-less transaction. In August 2016 the company completed its $1.8 billion merger with Germany’s Wincor Nixdorf, which brought together two leading competitors in the Retail Automation market. In March 2017, Fujitsu launched its wearable products, which can be effectively connected with the company’s self-checkout systems, resulting into the elimination of the outdated methods of sharing information.