Number of mPOS devices to grow at 95% in 2014 - report

According to a report from IHL Group, a global research and advisory firm for technologies deployed in the retail and hospitality industries, shipments of new mobile POS devices are expected to grow more than 95 % worldwide in 2014 and by more than 108 % in North America. The growth is being driven by how both retailers and consumers are becoming more accustomed to payments on mobile devices.

The impact of mobile POS on traditional POS installations varies widely by retail segment, with greater adoption in segments that include apparel and less in those segments characterized by high-volume consumer goods.

According to IHL’s Mobile POS Vendor Database, iOS accounted for 47 % of total mobile POS shipments in 2013 worldwide while Android had 33 % of shipments and Windows 8 12 %.

In 2014, iOS is expected to grow slower than the overall market for 2014 while Android is expected grow 104.6 % and Windows 8 128.4 %. In North America, Windows 8 devices are projected to grow 183.9 %.

Also, the report revealed that Apple has a dominant share of mobile POS devices in the market, at 39.9 %. However, Motorola Solutions, Hewlett Packard and Micros are showing the greatest shipment growth potential in 2014, in some cases tripling the growth rate over the previous year.

Finally, the report revealed that 64 % of current mobile POS devices are smartphones. The move in 2014 will be toward phablet and tablet sizes. For example, 64.6 % of all new mobile POS devices will be on phablet or larger screens in North America in 2014.