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

  • Bringing V2I and V2V communications to workzone safety
    January 26, 2012
    Imran Hayee of the University of Minnesota Duluth's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering talks about efforts to bring V2I and V2V communications into work zones. With USDOT backing and under the auspices of the ITS Joint Program Office Connected Vehicle Research (formerly IntelliDrive) research programme, M. Imran Hayee of the University of Minnesota Duluth's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering along with team of his students, have been conducting research into the application of
  • Connected car market ‘to grow almost 500 per cent by 2018’
    July 30, 2014
    The market for connected cars is growing rapidly, with an expected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 41.2 per cent between 2013 and 2018 and mobile network operators (MNOs) are jumping on the opportunity for new revenue streams and enhancement of customer loyalty that comes with this growth, according to the latest report from research firm Heavy Reading Insider, a research service from Heavy Reading. MNOs Hold the Keys to Success for Connected Cars examines the connected car market, analysing how mo
  • Kapsch sets course for higher profitability
    February 26, 2015
    Kapsch TrafficCom experienced stable business development in the first three quarters of 2014/2015 with existing installation and operation projects. The Group was also able to obtain a number of new orders in Australia during the third quarter, although new major orders, upon which the innovation and growth plans are based, remained elusive due to the lack of corresponding invitations to tender. Revenue of the Group during the first three quarters of the 2014/15 fiscal year was US$283.5 million, slightly b
  • Countering falling fuel tax revenue with mileage fees
    April 20, 2016
    Eric G. O’Rear and Wallace E. Tyner look at the benefits of mileage charges and how these might be implemented. Since the early 1900s, taxes on petrol (gasoline) and diesel fuels have been used to finance the construction and maintenance of roadway infrastructure and, in some countries other government spending too. Now, a combination of improved fuel economy, the advent of hybrid and alternative fuelled vehicles and a reluctance in some countries (especially the US) to increase fuel taxes has led to a d