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

  • Smart sensor technology predicted to drive global smart communities market until 2020
    April 12, 2016
    According to the latest research study released by Technavio, the global smart communities market is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 18 per cent until 2020. The report, Global Smart Communities Market 2016-2020, provides an in-depth analysis of market growth in terms of revenue and emerging market trends. This market research report also includes up to date analysis and forecasts for various market segments, including smart grids, smart community buildings, smart community transportation, and smart c
  • Sales of microelectric vehicles will be boosted by 85 per cent by 2013
    May 29, 2012
    Greener agendas, emission-based taxation, parking charge exemptions, and mass-produced electric vehicles are all working together to increase the sales of microelectric vehicles to 0’118,000 units by 2017 within the North American market new analysis from Frost & Sullivan predicts. This represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 39.30 per cent between 2010 and 2017. By 2013, the total count of microelectric vehicles in North America is likely to increase to 150 types, with the introduction of 34 new
  • EV market intelligence portal launched
    February 14, 2014
    IDTechEx has launched a new browser-based electric vehicle market intelligence portal which provides companies with real-time global analysis of the total electric vehicles market for land, water and air. The portal is based on an active and continuous program of interviews, data gathering and analysis by PhD-level IDTechEx analysts. Subscription will help clients take a concise and focused approach to accelerate growth and capture opportunities with minimal risk from disruptive technologies. Electri
  • LED forward lighting market to almost double by 2020
    July 12, 2012
    A market report by McKinsey & Company predicts a sharp increase in LED (Light Emitting Diode) lighting adoption in the automotive category by the end of the decade. And while in the very near term the industry will experience an increase in daytime running lights and headlamp usage, unique LED light guides and multiple light source lamps, McKinsey predicts that the technology will continue to change and advance, and in the future will include technology such as smart headlamps that sense the driving environ