The retail industry continues to be a hotbed of innovation, with activity driven by desire for efficiency and convenience, and the growing importance of technologies such as contactless payments, the Internet of Things (IoT), and ATM-type vending kiosks. In the last three years alone, there have been over 133,000 patents filed and granted in the retail industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Innovation in Retail: Transaction receipt printers. Buy the report here.
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However, not all innovations are equal and nor do they follow a constant upward trend. Instead, their evolution takes the form of an S-shaped curve that reflects their typical lifecycle from early emergence to accelerating adoption, before finally stabilising and reaching maturity.
Identifying where a particular innovation is on this journey, especially those that are in the emerging and accelerating stages, is essential for understanding their current level of adoption and the likely future trajectory and impact they will have.
70+ innovations will shape the retail industry
According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which plots the S-curve for the retail industry using innovation intensity models built on over 128,000 patents, there are 70+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.
Within the emerging innovation stage, ATM type vending kiosks, delivery returns handling, and shopping interface personalisation are disruptive technologies that are in the early stages of application and should be tracked closely. Retail trading platforms and contactless payments are some of the accelerating innovation areas, where adoption has been steadily increasing. Among maturing innovation areas are POS-integrated card readers and transaction receipt printers, which are now well established in the industry.
Innovation S-curve for the retail industry
Transaction receipt printers are a key innovation area in retail
The deployment of transaction receipt printers enables retailers to improve their point-of-sale equipment’s functionality. These devices make operations manageable and easy, by helping retailers keep track of their sales.
GlobalData’s analysis also uncovers the companies at the forefront of each innovation area and assesses the potential reach and impact of their patenting activity across different applications and geographies. According to GlobalData, there are 10+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established retail companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of transaction receipt printers.
Key players in transaction receipt printers – a disruptive innovation in the retail industry
‘Application diversity’ measures the number of different applications identified for each relevant patent and broadly splits companies into either ‘niche’ or ‘diversified’ innovators.
‘Geographic reach’ refers to the number of different countries each relevant patent is registered in and reflects the breadth of geographic application intended, ranging from ‘global’ to ‘local’.
Patent volumes related to transaction receipt printers
| Company | Total patents (2021 - 2023) | Premium intelligence on the world's largest companies |
| Toshiba | 156 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Seiko Epson | 97 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Block | 17 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Visa | 17 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Catalina Marketing | 13 | Unlock Company Profile |
| NEC | 12 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Glory | 12 | Unlock Company Profile |
| afterBOT | 10 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Western Union | 7 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Casio Computer | 6 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Panasonic | 6 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Alphabet | 5 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Walmart | 5 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Modiv Media | 5 | Unlock Company Profile |
Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics
Leading players in the transaction receipt printers space in terms of patents filed are Toshiba, Seiko Epson, Block, and Visa. Toshiba offers different point-of-sale receipt printers, including its TCx Single Station Printer and TCx Dual Station Printer. Both the printers are environmentally friendly owing to their low power consumption.
Leading players in this space in terms of application diversity are Catalina Marketing, Modiv Media, Seiko Epson, and The Western Union, while Glory, NEC, Visa, and Casio Computer lead the space in terms of geographic reach.
Transaction receipt printers with reliability, efficiency, and speed, along with low power consumption and paper saving options, will be the most in demand among retailers.
To further understand the key themes and technologies disrupting the retail industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Retail.
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GlobalData, the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article.
GlobalData’s Patent Analytics tracks patent filings and grants from official offices around the world. Textual analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries.
