Real-Time Location System (RTLS) Market Size, Share, Opportunities, COVID-19 Impact, And Trends By Offering (Hardware, Software, Services), By Technology (Infrared, RFID, Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, Others), By Industry Vertical (Healthcare, Manufacturing, Retail, Logistics, Other), And By Geography - Forecasts From 2022 To 2027

The real-time location system (RTLS) market is estimated at US$2.720 billion for 2020, growing at a CAGR of 22.47% to reach a market size of US$11.243 billion by 2027.

The market growth of real-time location systems is majorly attributed to the rising adoption on account of the capability of these systems to offer improved real-time tracking of numerous assets of the organization is one of the key factors driving their adoption across the numerous industry verticals.

Market Overview

These systems are devices attached to people or various things that help to track their location on a real-time basis. The growing adoption of these devices in various industries such as healthcare, manufacturing, and logistics among others, where the real-time location tracking of everything is highly essential in the vicinity is significantly driving the growth of the market throughout the forecast period. Furthermore, the use of these systems also leads to increased efficiency, operational excellence, and productivity, which is also leading to increased adoption of these systems. In addition, the growing focus of organizations to utilize their resources in an optimum manner coupled with the growing complexity and diversification of business processes is also anticipated to propel the market’s growth throughout the forecast period. Moreover, the rising focus of healthcare providers coupled with a significant increase in healthcare expenditure in major emerging economies also drives the growth of the market.

Moreover, growing investments by companies in the form of mergers and acquisitions to expand their share in the market and gain a competitive edge over other players also show the rising competition in the market, thereby increasing the potential for the growth of the market for the next five years. For instance, in October 2019, Gtx Corp, a company that develops miniaturized global positioning system tracking technology and RTLS assistive technology, announced a collaborative agreement with Netobjex, Inc., a leading provider of intelligent and integrated automation platforms for monitoring, tracing, and tracking assets for numerous industry verticals.

The growing e-commerce logistics industry is anticipated to drive the market growth

The increasing penetration of smartphones, coupled with the availability of the internet and the availability of numerous mobile applications for different e-commerce business owners is one of the primary factors propelling the growth of the logistics sector. This, combined with increasing investments in the latest and advanced technologies is also anticipated to propel the growth opportunities for the market for the forecast period and beyond. Furthermore, this growing smartphone usage has led to multiple e-commerce service providers developing better mobile experiences for their users, thus further augmenting the e-commerce logistics growth. Additionally, multiple local retailers are also developing mobile applications to account for changing consumer behaviors toward an increase in mobile-based purchases, which is also driving the growth of the e-commerce logistics industry. Furthermore, increasing demand for consumer electronics coupled with additional benefits given by e-commerce businesses is anticipating customers to move towards online shopping.

The Healthcare industry is expected to rule the market

Based on industry verticals, the global real-time location system market has been classified into healthcare, manufacturing, retail, logistics, and others. The healthcare segment is anticipated to hold a noteworthy share of the market because high adoption of these systems by healthcare service providers. The rising healthcare investments in major emerging economies coupled with the decent growth of the highly developed healthcare sector of the major developed economies are all the factors that are collectively contributing towards the growth of the market for the healthcare sector. According to the World Bank Group, the per capita healthcare expenditure in the major growing economies such as India, China, and Indonesia is increasing on account of rising government support for uplifting the healthcare sectors of these countries. For instance, in India, the per capita healthcare expenditure increased to US$62.716 by 2016 from 29.652 in 2006. Similarly, in China, it increased from US$81.79 in 2006 to 398.332 in 2016.

Increased Investments

Furthermore, increasing investments by players in the market in the form of R&D and the development of state-of-art technology solutions for the healthcare industry on account of burgeoning requirements are also expected to be one of the key factors for the growth of the real-time location systems market for the healthcare industry. For instance, recently in 2020, Infor, a leading enterprise software company, announced the acquisition of Intelligent Insites, a globally known company, leveraging its real-time location system’s software and services for the healthcare industry. The company aims to expand its portfolio of various RTLS services and solutions to healthcare organizations.

North America holds a significant market share

Based on geography, the global real-time location systems market is segmented into North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The North American region is anticipated to hold a considerable share of the market on account of the presence of state-of-art healthcare infrastructure in countries such as the United States and Canada. The consistent increase in investments in the development of healthcare infrastructure supplements the market's growth in this region.  

European region to witness steady growth

Europe is anticipated to show good growth opportunities as the growing focus of the governments of various countries in major countries such as the UK, Germany, and France is leading to growing investments in the healthcare sector. For instance, in Germany, as per the data from the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), in 2018 the healthcare expenditure in Germany reached 387.7 billion euros an increase of 3.1% from the previous year. The Asia Pacific region is projected to show good growth in the market throughout the forecast period due to rising government support in many countries for boosting the healthcare sector coupled with the rapidly rising trend of medical tourism. In addition, the presence of a considerably large population base along with the rising disposable income and economic growth and the presence of a strong manufacturing base is supplementing the growth of the manufacturing sector in countries like China, India, and South Korea, which is also projected to positively impact the growth of the market in the APAC region.

Market Developments

• In February 2022, Zebra Technology Corporation is a global provider of location solutions that range from basic passive RAIN RFID tags on goods to the most complex real-time active athlete tracking. Zebra Technologies has introduced a new portfolio of easy-to-implement integrated RFID portals. RFID portal integration will increase operational efficiency, operational accuracy, and effectiveness in a variety of industrial and commercial situations.

Real-Time Location System (RTLS) Market Scope:

Segmentation

• By Offering
  • Hardware
  • Software
  • Services
• By Technology
  • Infrared
  • RFID
  • WI-FI
  • GPS
  • Bluetooth
  • Others
• By Industry Vertical
  • Healthcare
  • Manufacturing
  • Retail
  • Logistics
  • Others
• By Geography
  • North America
    • USA
    • Canada
    • Mexico
  • South America
    • Brazil
    • Argentina
    • Others
  • Europe
    • Germany
    • France
    • United Kingdom
    • Spain
    • Others
  • Middle East and Africa
    • Saudi Arabia
    • Israel
    • Others
  • Asia Pacific
    • China
    • Japan
    • South Korea
    • India
    • Indonesia
    • Thailand
    • Taiwan
    • Others