Tap into the $1.4 Bn (by 2026) People Counting System Market

COVID-19 Impact on the Global People Counting System Market

The outbreak and the spread of the COVID-19 had a negative effect on the people counting system market in 2020, resulting in decreased deployments of people counting system. This resulted in the declined revenues generated from them. As a result, a dip was witnessed in the growth trend of the market during the first half of 2020. This trend continued to prevail till the first quarter of 2021. The demand for people counting systems is expected to surge with the increase in the production volume and the demand for occupancy monitoring, visitor footfall count in store, and identification of customer behavior analytics in the second or third quarter of 2021.

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Market Dynamics:

Driver: Growing deployment of people counting systems at retail stores and public places to maintain occupancy limits for social distancing due to outbreak of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the lives of people across the world. The lockdowns imposed by the governments of different countries to contain the disease have impacted businesses across the world. Brick-and-mortar stores have seen a significant reduction in footfall. Retail stores are facing several challenges while maintaining social distancing in commercial settings because enforcing and maintaining physical distance rules is not that easy. However, the outbreak of the pandemic acts as a major driver for the companies offering people counting systems as these solutions alert authorities or shop owners when these places get overcrowded and the social distancing measure is not followed. Many times, customers will stop buying products from retailers who are not serious about health and safety measures. Therefore, many companies in this market focus on adding features to their existing products to help end users understand the traffic and take timely decisions to reopen their businesses more responsibly. For instance, in May 2020, RetailNext enhanced the occupancy data capabilities of its traffic 2.0 platform as brick-and-mortar retail stores are expected to follow government measures to help control the spread of COVID-19. Similarly, in April 2020, Sensormatic Solutions’ new offerings such as real-time occupancy, thermal imaging, and physical barrier solutions help create a safer store environment, and it has become easy for retailers to reopen their businesses. On the same grounds, V-Count launched VCARE, a new live-occupancy solution in response to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. VCARE offers real-time occupancy monitoring solutions, which can help businesses to manage and monitor the distance between individuals ensuring the safety of customers and staff. Thus, the outbreak of COVID-19 is becoming a driving factor for companies delivering people counting systems.

Restraint: Rapid growth of the e-commerce industry

The booming e-commerce sector and the rise of various online shopping websites are hindering factors for the people counting system market. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the top 13 global B2C e-commerce companies’ sales were worth USD 2.9 trillion in 2020. The B2C e-commerce sales include the transaction between end users and online retailers only. UNCTAD also stated that the share of e-commerce in global retail was 14% in 2019, and it increased to 17% in 2020. E-commerce has affected the growth of the retail sector at a significant level globally. The decreasing number of visitors in retail stores, shopping malls, and supermarkets during the pandemic has affected the demand for people counting systems. As e-commerce poses a threat to brick-and-mortar stores, it resulted in the shutdown of many stores across the world. For instance, Ascena Retail Group (US) filed for bankruptcy in June 2020 and closed around 2,800 of its stores, and General Nutrition Center (US) filed for bankruptcy in June 2020 and closed around 1,300 of its stores worldwide in 2020.

Opportunity: Integration of 4D technology into video-based people counters

2D and 3D people counting systems have been used in different end-user verticals, such as retail, transportation, hospitality, and healthcare. 2D people counting systems are video-based monocular single-lens devices suitable for low-traffic and well-lit environments. These people counting systems offer an accuracy of 80 to 95%.

3D people counters use stereoscopic vision and can be combined with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth technologies for better accuracy and visitor tracking. 3D people counters can maintain an accuracy of more than 95% in high traffic.

However, 4D people counting systems create a great opportunity for this market as they are more accurate. These systems offer several advantages over 2D and 3D people counting systems, such as staff exclusion, anonymity, dwell time measurement, ability to work in darkness, and ability to detect children. InfraRed Integrated Systems Ltd (IRISYS) and Smart Technologies Corporation are a few players offering 4D people counting systems. These systems find applications in retail stores, train stations, airports, museums, supermarkets, etc. Moreover, 4D people counters can trackage and gender differentiation, monitor objects during the nighttime, measure the impact of weather conditions, etc. Further, according to study1, the 4D light field sensing system, an innovation in the 4D people counting system, can count the number of people without any assisting light device. The 4D light-field sensing system will be highly beneficial in passageways, entrances, and other places with low light intensity. These 4D people counting systems can work indoors and outdoors with an accuracy of more than 99%, which creates huge opportunities for 4D people counting systems in the near future.

Challenge: Differential store metrics limiting the effectiveness of video-based counters

Video-based people counters are one of the most widely used systems that offer high accuracy. They are available through most companies and are powered with technologies such as 2D, 3D, or 4D. Further video-based counters offer surveillance to larger ranges. For instance, the APS-180E from HELLA Aglaia Mobile Vision GmbH covers an area of up to 690 sq. ft. without the optical sensor fusion and up to 6,114 sq. ft. with optical sensor fusion.

However, differential store metrics have limited the effectiveness of video-based systems in certain spots, such as areas affected by shadows, complex backgrounds, or varying light levels, which may impact the accuracy of a video-based counter. Additionally, as they are powered with electricity and require continuous Wi-Fi for data transfer, obtaining continuous and effective data from hidden or less exposed areas is difficult. To overcome this challenge, retail store owners should install multiple video-based counters integrated with the latest technologies, such as 4D or 4D light-field sensors, in various places inside the store, which incurs additional cost.

The bidirectional segment held the major share of the people counting system market, in 2020.

In 2020, bidirectional segment held the largest share of the people counting system market, and a similar trend is likely to be observed during the forecast period. The growth is attributed to the advantages such as retail analytics, queue management, staff optimization, and space utilization. These people counting systems can identify whether a person is walking in or out of the entrance. They allow end users to count the number of visitors on a particular floor or zone, along with the direction they used to enter/exit. Sensors used in bidirectional people counting systems can scan areas 200 times/seconds, which allows them to work on the accuracy of more than 95%.

The market for video-based people counters is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period

The video-based people counters of the market is projected to record the highest CAGR from 2021 to 2026. The growth can be attributed to significant demand for accuracy as this technology is capable of providing a more precise count of visitors compared to other technologies. These systems have a ~95% accuracy and can count in both directions; they may be linked with modern analytical systems that help end users with in-store analytics, dwell time measurement, queue management, etc.

The hardware segment held the major share of the people counting system market, in 2020.

In 2020, the hardware segment held the largest share of the people counting system market, and this trend is projected to continue during the forecast period. The capacity to gather more precise data necessary for giving an exact visitor count plays a crucial role in expanding the market for hardware offerings. Companies have been substantially investing in the development of additional technology that can operate in severe settings without affecting the efficiency of people counting systems.