Smartphone Ubiquity Steers Remarkable Growth for Mobile Point of Sale Terminal Market

Many retailers have pursued digital transformation after the onset of COVID-19. An area that received sizable investments is point-of-sale terminals as organizations have been using mobile devices to facilitate payment processes. A report from Transparency Market Research reveals that the global mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) terminal market is earmarked for growth, with its value rising from $16.25 billion in 2021 to a projected $64.79 billion by 2031 at an annual growth rate of 15.1%. The demand for mPOS terminals has steadily grown over time.

With numerous market players offering mPOS solutions, the choice to go mobile with payment processing is an easy one to make. After all, mPOS terminals enable retailers to facilitate payments while on the go. Rather than using traditional terminals with separate credit card readers, mobile devices like smartphones and tablets are leveraged. This potentially means lower overhead costs for businesses, especially for organizations that apply BYOD schemes. mPOS terminals can also be used remotely. Additionally, these platforms integrate with or carry inventory management, billing, and product reporting solutions.

Given the technological maturity of North America, the region posted the highest share of the mPOS terminal market. Meanwhile, the fast tech development in Asia, especially in China and India, has led to the APAC region having the highest annual growth rate during the forecast period.

Besides the aforesaid advantages of using mPOS terminals, two bigger factors are driving the global mPOS terminal market’s growth—the ubiquity of mobile devices and the expanded services of vendors. Most people nowadays own a smartphone and have grown accustomed to digital payments. Moreover, the technology used in mobile POS software has rapidly advanced along with the solutions provided.

Rise in Mobile Transactions

As of January 2022, there are 5.31 billion unique mobile phone users, accounting for 67.1 of the global population. In addition, 96.2% of internet users aged 16 to 64 own smartphones. This means the employees of retailers are likely to have smartphones, which can be leveraged during operating hours as POS terminals. Businesses will only have to splurge on mPOS software and possibly implement like mobile card readers and mobile printers to facilitate payments. This lowers the overhead in the process, a reason why the technology is as popular among SMEs and micro-merchants as it is with large enterprises.

Based on a 2021 report by Retail Consulting Partners, 33% of retailers already consider mPOS as a top priority while 41% of brands recognize mobile solutions as a critical factor for improving customer engagement. The growing adoption of mPOS in retail stores and restaurants has given rise to a steady increase in mobile POS transactions. The latest figures show that the aggregate mPOS transaction value in the United States is slated to increase from $470 billion in 2021 to $540 billion this year, all the way to $1.28 trillion by 2027. It also helps that a lot of people these days use mobile wallets.

A similar trend follows for the number of mPOS terminal payers or users. The number of users is poised to shoot up from 58.8 million in 2021 to 60.8 million this year, all the way to 95.3 million by 2027. As for the income brackets of mPOS payers, 43.7% belong to the high-income sphere, 29.3% have medium income, and 27% earn a low income.

Furthermore, mPOS terminal vendors provide value-added services to their products to successfully influence sales. These include convenient pricing schemes, programs for rewards and discounts, and customized solutions for various verticals. The additional services have furthered the growth of the already popular technology.