Point-of-Sale Market - Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Opportunity, and Forecast, 2021-2031

The Global Point-of-Sale Market is projected to expand from USD 28.24 Billion in 2025 to USD 59.83 Billion by 2031, reflecting a CAGR of 13.33%. A Point-of-Sale (POS) system represents the integrated hardware and software framework that permits merchants to process sales, handle payments, and oversee operational tasks like inventory management and customer analytics. Primary growth factors include the rapid consumer shift toward cashless transactions and the growing need for retailers to deploy omnichannel strategies linking physical and digital channels. Highlighting this demand for modern terminals equipped with near-field communication technology, data from Payments Canada indicates that contactless payments comprised 58 percent of all transactions in 2024.

However, the industry encounters significant obstacles related to data security and the substantial costs associated with regulatory compliance. Because sensitive financial data is often centralized within cloud-based networks, POS systems become prime targets for cyber threats, requiring the implementation of strict and costly security protocols. These high costs for implementation and upkeep often discourage small and medium-sized enterprises from modernizing their aging infrastructure, consequently slowing broader market growth in sectors that are highly sensitive to costs.

Market Drivers

The swift migration toward contactless options and mobile wallets is fundamentally reshaping the Global Point-of-Sale Market, forcing merchants to swap out legacy magnetic stripe readers for terminals enabled with Near Field Communication to handle the increase in tap-to-pay activities. According to the 'Global Payments Report 2024' by FIS in March 2024, digital wallets represented 30 percent of global point-of-sale transaction value in 2023, confirming their status as a dominant payment mechanism. This prevalence requires infrastructure designed to securely process tokenized credentials at rapid speeds, a need further emphasized by UK Finance data from 2024 showing that contactless payment volumes rose by 7 percent to hit 18.3 billion in the previous year.

Furthermore, the rising adoption of cloud-based POS systems and the incorporation of AI are pivotal drivers pushing the market toward unified operations. Cloud platforms enable businesses to synchronize customer and inventory data across various locations in real-time, effectively merging physical and digital commerce environments. This push for efficiency is reflected in spending trends; Block, Inc.'s '2024 Future of Commerce' report from January 2024 notes that 55 percent of business owners intend to boost investment in automation and technology over the coming year to mitigate staffing issues. As a result, vendors are shifting to provide modular software solutions featuring advanced analytics, which lowers the total cost of ownership while improving merchant flexibility.

Market Challenges

The Global Point-of-Sale Market contends with significant difficulties concerning data security weaknesses and the high expenses linked to maintaining regulatory compliance. As merchants continue to adopt cloud-based networks, the aggregation of sensitive payment information attracts frequent cyberattacks, necessitating the deployment of rigorous and costly security safeguards. These obligatory measures place heavy financial burdens on small and medium-sized enterprises, which frequently lack the funds to upgrade from legacy hardware to modern, compliant systems. This financial hurdle consequently obstructs the widespread integration of advanced POS technologies, especially within fragmented or cost-conscious market sectors operating on thin margins.

Recent industry statistics regarding financial threats underscore the critical nature of this challenge. The Association for Financial Professionals reported in 2025 that 79 percent of surveyed organizations had experienced actual or attempted payment fraud during the preceding year. Such a high prevalence of fraudulent behavior demands the inclusion of sophisticated security layers within POS infrastructure, which substantially raises the total cost of ownership. Since vendors inevitably transfer these security and compliance costs to the end-users, smaller merchants face further disincentives to update their technology, directly hindering the overall expansion of the global market.

Market Trends

The rapid spread of SoftPOS and Tap-to-Phone technology is transforming the market by enabling merchants to convert smartphones into functional payment terminals. This innovation removes the need for dedicated hardware, thereby significantly lowering entry barriers for micro-merchants. Unlike standard NFC terminals, SoftPOS utilizes downloadable apps to facilitate immediate transaction processing on commercial off-the-shelf devices. Highlighting this trend, an April 2025 article by TechAfricaNews titled 'Visa's Tap to Phone Usage Surges 200%, Empowering Small Businesses' cited Visa's report that Tap to Phone usage grew by 200 percent over the prior year, indicating a growing appetite for hardware-free payment solutions.

Simultaneously, the growth of self-service kiosks and automated checkout systems is reshaping the in-person consumer experience, spurred by labor shortages and a growing preference for user autonomy. Retail and hospitality operators are installing interactive stations that allow customers to personalize orders and finalize payments without staff intervention, an approach that improves efficiency and boosts average ticket values through automated upselling. According to the '2025 Phygital Index Report' by Tillster in April 2025, 61 percent of users expressed a desire for more kiosks in restaurants, highlighting the shift in consumer expectations toward self-directed service models.

Key Players Profiled in the Point-of-Sale Market

• Toshiba Corporation
• Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company
• Idealpos Solutions Pty Ltd.
• Intel Corporation
• Microsoft Corporation
• NCR Voyix Corporation
• Panasonic Holdings Corporation
• Revel Systems Inc.
• Toast Inc.

Report Scope

In this report, the Global Point-of-Sale Market has been segmented into the following categories:

Point-of-Sale Market, by Component:

• Hardware
• Software

Point-of-Sale Market, by Deployment:

• On-premises
• Cloud-based

Point-of-Sale Market, by Operating System:

• Windows/Linux
• Android
• iOS

Point-of-Sale Market, by End-user:

• Restaurants
• Retail
• Entertainment
• Others

Point-of-Sale Market, by Region:

• North America
• Europe
• Asia-Pacific
• South America
• Middle East & Africa

Competitive Landscape

Company Profiles: Detailed analysis of the major companies present in the Global Point-of-Sale Market.

Available Customization

The analyst offers customization according to your specific needs. The following customization options are available for the report:

• Detailed analysis and profiling of additional market players (up to five).

This product will be delivered within 1-3 business days.