13 Must-Know POS Statistics For 2024

The convenience of your POS systems can be a determining factor for attracting and retaining repeat customers. If you don’t stay on top of the latest POS trends, you could end up falling behind your competition, advertising to the wrong market segments, and investing in technology that doesn’t help your business.

Thankfully, a large amount of research into POS systems has been conducted over the last few years, resulting in many reports that contain valuable insights into market trends.

Table of Contents Table of Contents

1. 13 Must-Know POS Statistics
2. 1. Almost 30% of Retailers Have the Goal of Implementing AI in Their POS Systems Over the Next Two to Five Years
3. 2. 40% of Retail Stores Currently Use or Are Planning To Implement Self-Service POS Solutions
4. 3. POS Terminals Have a Total Global Market Size of More Than $100Bn
5. 4. The Worldwide POS Terminals Market Is Estimated To Rise From Around $100Bn in 2024 Up to $151.97bn in 2029
6. 5. Almost 80% of Retail Stores Currently Use or Are Planning To Implement a Unified Commerce Platform
7. 6. Around 40% of POS Hardware and Software Are More Than Five Years Old
8. 7. As of 2020, 34% of Retailers Make Use of Mobile Phone Features To Acquire Information About Their Customers
9. 8. More Than 27% of the Overall POS Market Is Controlled by One Provider: Square
10. 9. Apple Pay Was the Most Popular Mobile Payment Provider As of Year-End 2023
11. 10. The Worldwide Market for Cloud POS Systems Is Estimated To Reach $30Bn by 2031
12. 11. North America Makes Up the Biggest Piece of the Cloud POS Market, With an Estimated Growth Rate of 24.1%
13. 12. Almost 50% of Retail Store Owners Expressed Interest in Adding Additional Features to Their POS Systems
14. 13. Retailers Report That POS Data Makes Up More Than 50% of Important Decision-Making Information
15. Conclusion
16. FAQs
17. References

Show Full Guide

Table of Contents

1. 13 Must-Know POS Statistics
2. 1. Almost 30% of Retailers Have the Goal of Implementing AI in Their POS Systems Over the Next Two to Five Years
3. 2. 40% of Retail Stores Currently Use or Are Planning To Implement Self-Service POS Solutions
Show Full Guide
4. 3. POS Terminals Have a Total Global Market Size of More Than $100Bn
5. 4. The Worldwide POS Terminals Market Is Estimated To Rise From Around $100Bn in 2024 Up to $151.97bn in 2029
6. 5. Almost 80% of Retail Stores Currently Use or Are Planning To Implement a Unified Commerce Platform
7. 6. Around 40% of POS Hardware and Software Are More Than Five Years Old
8. 7. As of 2020, 34% of Retailers Make Use of Mobile Phone Features To Acquire Information About Their Customers
9. 8. More Than 27% of the Overall POS Market Is Controlled by One Provider: Square
10. 9. Apple Pay Was the Most Popular Mobile Payment Provider As of Year-End 2023
11. 10. The Worldwide Market for Cloud POS Systems Is Estimated To Reach $30Bn by 2031
12. 11. North America Makes Up the Biggest Piece of the Cloud POS Market, With an Estimated Growth Rate of 24.1%
13. 12. Almost 50% of Retail Store Owners Expressed Interest in Adding Additional Features to Their POS Systems
14. 13. Retailers Report That POS Data Makes Up More Than 50% of Important Decision-Making Information
15. Conclusion
16. FAQs
17. References

13 Must-Know POS Statistics

We analyzed these reports and placed the 13 most important POS statistics here in one place to make your research easier.

1. Almost 30% of Retailers Have the Goal of Implementing AI in Their POS Systems Over the Next Two to Five Years

This statistic from RCP reflects the much larger trend of AI implementation in business. AI solutions can automate repetitive POS tasks, streamline inventory management, and even use machine learning to increase their accuracy and performance over time.

How you can take action: If your business is in an industry with heavy competition, don’t get left behind. Consider implementing AI solutions in your POS systems to cut costs and customer wait times.

2. 40% of Retail Stores Currently Use or Are Planning To Implement Self-Service POS Solutions

Maybe customers feel like self-service POS systems reduce wait times—or there’s a reluctance to interact with employees at the checkout counters. The recent popularity of self-service POS solutions indicates an enhanced customer experience, particularly at grocery stores, liquor stores, and other large chain stores.

How you can take action: Unless you operate a small store like a boutique bar or a thrift shop, installing a few self-service POS stations can reduce wait times and make a huge difference in overall customer satisfaction.

3. POS Terminals Have a Total Global Market Size of More Than $100Bn

This $100bn figure gets even more astounding when you realize it’s not referring to the POS market as a whole, which includes other elements like POS software. Rather,? it’s a measure of the POS hardware market, consisting mainly of payment confirmation screens and PIN pad machines where you swipe your credit card to make a purchase.

How you can take action: The POS terminal market is massive, and downward trends aren’t expected anytime soon. If your systems are outdated, consider buying a newer POS terminal to make transactions easier for your customers and stay competitive within your industry.

4. The Worldwide POS Terminals Market Is Estimated To Rise From Around $100Bn in 2024 Up to $151.97bn in 2029

This massive ~$52bn increase over just five years indicates a somewhat counterintuitive truth: In an age of online payments and cloud solutions, the market for in-store POS hardware is still growing rapidly. This rise comes out to a compound annual growth rate of 8.68%, which is almost as high as the growth rate of the S&P 500 itself.

How you can take action: Stay up to date on your in-store POS terminals, as the technology will only continue to advance with the market’s growth. You could also consider investing some of your business’ on-hand cash into innovative POS hardware stocks, capitalizing on the industry’s high estimated growth rate to generate returns on your retained earnings.

5. Almost 80% of Retail Stores Currently Use or Are Planning To Implement a Unified Commerce Platform

A unified commerce platform integrates all retail channels—online, mobile, and in-store—into a single platform.

For example, if you buy something from a brand online and then visit that brand’s store in person, the cashier will be able to see your past online order as soon as you give them your phone number or email address. This makes things like returns, exchanges, and points redemption much faster and easier.

How you can take action: Around 80% of brands are prioritizing unified commerce platforms. Installing one for your business will mean all customer purchase actions happen in the same unified dashboard. This improves shopping experiences for your customers, simplifies revenue reporting for your accountants, and streamlines CRM for your account managers.

6. Around 40% of POS Hardware and Software Are More Than Five Years Old

This statistic indicates a general reluctance to upgrade to newer POS solutions and speaks to the long-term reliability of POS hardware and software. After all, if nearly half of businesses are using POS systems that came out five years ago, they were clearly built with longevity in mind.

However, with AI integration sweeping the business and technology worlds, this figure will likely change as business owners increasingly upgrade to smarter, AI-driven POS solutions.

How you can take action: While this statistic may make you feel better about not being on the cutting edge, we recommend viewing it instead as your chance to get ahead of the competition and invest now in newer POS systems with better technology.

7. As of 2020, 34% of Retailers Make Use of Mobile Phone Features To Acquire Information About Their Customers

Despite what you might be thinking, this information isn’t used for any nefarious purposes. Rather, it’s to personalize each customer’s experience, making both browsing and purchasing streamlined and enjoyable. Moreover, 54% of retailers state that personalizing customer experience is a high-priority focus.

How you can take action: Ensure that your business adheres to industry standards by accommodating customer preferences. By ethically collecting and using data from your website visitors and your paying customers, you can increase the likelihood that they’ll make repeat purchases.

8. More Than 27% of the Overall POS Market Is Controlled by One Provider: Square

Square holds almost 30% of the overall market for POS systems, with Toast, Lightspeed, and Fiserv coming in second, third, and fourth places.

This is largely due to Square being one of the first mobile POS systems that could integrate with smartphones and tablets to take payments. It resulted in huge savings for small business owners and more convenience for restaurant customers who could pay from their tables.

How you can take action: If you run a small business and want to reduce costs, consider using one of Square’s mobile card readers instead of a standard POS system. Square’s longevity and market share position it as a strong provider.

9. Apple Pay Was the Most Popular Mobile Payment Provider As of Year-End 2023

According to a recent survey, 60% of customers regularly use Apple Pay, 59% also use CashApp, and 58% prefer PayPal.

How you can take action: These stats indicate the rise of mobile payments in general. If you don’t already accept mobile payments in your stores, we recommend considering it sooner rather than later.

10. The Worldwide Market for Cloud POS Systems Is Estimated To Reach $30Bn by 2031

Cloud POS systems differ from traditional POS systems in that customer data is hosted and stored in the cloud instead of on-site. In 2022, the cloud POS market was valued at around $4bn, which means the expected growth of $26bn by 2031 comes at a 25% compound annual growth rate—more than three times higher than the S&P 500.

How you can take action: Cloud POS systems are growing quickly for a reason. Data stored in the cloud is backed up securely, easily scalable, and accessible from anywhere. The same can’t be said for traditional POS systems. If you haven’t already done so, consider switching to a cloud POS system.

11. North America Makes Up the Biggest Piece of the Cloud POS Market, With an Estimated Growth Rate of 24.1%

According to Straits Research, this stat results from increased sales of tech devices like tablets, mobile POS systems, and cloud-based services, along with a surge in demand for advanced touchscreen POS systems. According to the same study, Europe is close behind North America as the second-biggest area within the cloud POS market.

How you can take action: Take advantage of the latest touchscreen and cloud-based POS technologies to stay competitive. Since Europe is also a significant market, make the same push for any stores or branches located abroad.

12. Almost 50% of Retail Store Owners Expressed Interest in Adding Additional Features to Their POS Systems

In 2024, POS systems can be much more than “Swipe your card” and “Enter your PIN.” Self-checkouts at many grocery stores feature touchscreen menus where customers can search for unique items and even redeem points and use discounts.

Most retailers see the value in these additional features, and almost half have prioritized their implementation.

How you can take action: Not all stores need advanced POS features, especially small stores with a single checkout counter. But if your business is growing and self-checkout is a popular option for your customers, we recommend implementing additional features to make your customers even more independent.

13. Retailers Report That POS Data Makes Up More Than 50% of Important Decision-Making Information

POS reports contain high levels of detail, shedding light on which employees perform the best and which items sell most frequently. A recent report from The Motley Fool suggests that more than 50% of the important data retailers use to make company decisions comes straight from their POS systems.

How you can take action: If you aren’t already, generate POS reports at least once a week from your POS system and use the information to optimize your store’s performance, like changing the placement of bestselling items or promoting top-performing employees.

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