Skip to main content

Personal tracking to be the next billion dollar GPS market

GPS personal tracking devices and applications are forecast to grow with a CAGR of 40 per cent, with both markets breaking $1 billion in 2017, new research by ABI Research claims. Senior analyst Patrick Connolly says, “The hardware market remained below 100,000 units in 2011. However, it is forecast to reach 2.5 million units in 2017, with significant growth in elderly, health, and lone worker markets. Dedicated devices can offer significant benefits, with insurance and liability increasingly encouraging th
March 22, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
GPS personal tracking devices and applications are forecast to grow with a CAGR of 40 per cent, with both markets breaking $1 billion in 2017, new research by 5725 ABI Research claims. Senior analyst Patrick Connolly says, “The hardware market remained below 100,000 units in 2011. However, it is forecast to reach 2.5 million units in 2017, with significant growth in elderly, health, and lone worker markets. Dedicated devices can offer significant benefits, with insurance and liability increasingly encouraging the use of approved equipment.”

“We are also seeing the first signs of leading CE companies entering the market, such as 213 Qualcomm, 493 Apple (via PocketFinder), 490 Garmin, 607 Cobra, etc. and there will also be significant partnerships and acquisitions in this space as new entrants looks to add tracking to their portfolio,” adds Connolly. Other markets include family, personal items, such as luggage, and pet and offender tracking.

There is an addressable market of over 120 million people across these markets alone, with over two million US elderly using non-GPS personal emergency response systems (PERS). However, awareness, battery life, economic conditions, and high subscription fees remain significant barriers. There is also a fear that smartphone applications will cannibalise the market.

The application market is already booming, with Life360 reaching 10 million downloads for its family locator application. Long term, these solutions will become part of much bigger security and health markets, growing to over 200 million downloads in 2017, as well as the majority of total tracking market revenue.

ABI Research group director Dominique Bonte adds, “In particular, carrier platforms represent a major revenue generator opportunity for family locator applications, matching their secure image and offering differentiation to family subscription plans. Companies such as Location Labs and TCS are already seeing success in this space.”

ABI Research’s new report, “Personal Location Devices and Applications Market,” identifies the key growth markets for GPS tracking devices, analyzing each market individually to enable companies to identify the market that best fits their approach. The competitive environment is also analysed.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Berg Insight: Fleet Management in Australia and New Zealand expected to grow in years to come
    October 27, 2017
    The number of Fleet Management (FM) systems in active use is forecasted to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 15.7% from almost 0.7 million units in 2016 to 1.4 million by 2021. The findings come from the latest report from Berg Insight: Fleet Management in Australia and New Zealand - 2nd edition, which also estimates that the penetration rate in the total population of non-privately-owned fleet vehicles used by businesses is estimated to increase from 14.8% in 2016 to 27.8% in 2021.
  • Growth of smart parking market and parking reservation systems
    August 6, 2015
    ReportsnReports.com’s latest research report, Global Smart Parking Market 2015-2019 says increased use of data analytics to optimise parking is one of the key trends being witnessed in this market across the globe. The research discusses trends, forecasts and growth prospects segmented by geography along with information on leading players of the worldwide industry. Data analytics software is predominantly used these days to provide better parking facilities to consumers. Data analytics provide an approp
  • Cycle scanner ready to retro-fit on HGVs
    July 24, 2013
    Cobra UK has launched its cycle scanner, which can be retrofitted to heavy goods vehicles (HGV) to aid safety for cyclists. The device was developed in response to the growing issue of cyclist safety, particularly in the London area, and uses the latest GPS and live video CCTV technology. It features a scanner and six sensors along the nearside of a vehicle to detect a cyclist and a live video camera to identify exactly what is happening around the vehicle. If a cyclist enters the nearside of the vehicle,
  • Electronic toll collection delivers efficient traffic regulation
    February 3, 2012
    Electronic tolling systems have been in use for decades now. Worldwide, steadily more and more tolling systems are being set into operation, providing efficient means for traffic regulation and financing of infrastructure. But despite this maturity enforcement is still not being given the consideration it deserves. Q-Free's Steinar Furan writes