FRANKLIN, Tenn. — After several years of struggling, the worldwide market for PC-based point-of-sale systems grew 6.9% in 2010, but that growth could be short-lived, according to new research from IHL Group here.
"It was a strong year overall, but several threats appear on the horizon for this market,” said Greg Buzek, president of IHL Group, in a statement. First, new mobile devices, inspired by the Apple iPad price point of $500, are a “significant threat to the traditional POS market,” particularly for specialty stores and hospitality establishments, he said. In addition, increasing oil prices due to unrest in the Middle East will be “putting a drag on retail and ultimately POS spending,” he said.
Other key findings of IHL's “2011 North American Retail POS Terminal Study” include:
• The shipshare of POS units with embedded operating systems from Microsoft increased to 34.1% worldwide.
• Overall, 87.4% of POS terminals shipped were on DOS or Microsoft Windows platforms.
