FRANKLIN Tenn. Overall shipments of point-of-sale-system terminals were down 4.2 percent in North America in 2008 compared with 2007, with only grocers, supercenters and warehouse clubs ordering more of the technology, IHL Group indicated.
Franklin-based IHL said POS terminal shipments in 2008 slowed the most to table-service restaurants and large specialty hard goods retailers, among foodservice and retailer segments.
The research and services firm said 2009 will be “more challenging overall,” in terms of pressures on POS suppliers and buyers. But it added that there will be numerous strategic opportunities for terminal vendors, as buyers continue to replace systems and software in order to comply with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards, or PCI DSS.
IHL’s “2009 North American Retail POS Terminal Study” also found that shipments of POS terminals running a Microsoft Corp. Windows operating system increased to 76 percent of all terminal shipments last year, up from 71 percent a year earlier. The vendor’s researchers said that growth game at the expense of terminals running the Linux operating system, whose “shipshare” decreased from 10.0 percent in 2007 to 9.2 percent in 2008, and other operating systems.
“In a down year, Microsoft came out as a clear winner, particularly with their embedded operating platforms that are offered at a much lower price point than their traditional offerings,” said Greg Buzek, president of IHL Consulting Group, which serves restaurateurs, retailers and retail technology vendors.
According to IHL, payment-card data security breaches, which can pose significant financial liability and tarnish an operator or retailer’s reputation, now weigh heavily on the minds of such business owners when they consider POS system purchases. It said that businesses want POS systems that are PCI DSS compliant and offer an expandable platform that can accommodate additional applications.