Smart Labels – A Revolution for the Packaging Industry
Smart labels as the name suggest are technologically integrated labels that incorporated with advanced features such as electronic article surveillance, QR Codes. The information regarding the product is stored in these labels and these labels enable the users to interact with them through their smartphones and other digital devices. With the help of these labels storekeepers, and various entities can protect their products as these labels can offer real-time tracking of the products thus further help in the prevention of the counterfeiting of the products as well. This further enables the retailers to efficiently manage the inventories at lower costs and thus improve their operational efficiency. This is also a key factor bolstering the demand for smart labels across various industries. Also, these labels help the marketers to analyze the behavior of the customers for the implementation of the right strategy for the right customers to tap the market potential. Another key factor that is acting as a catalyst for the market to grow in the coming years is the rise in the proportion of a tech-savvy population, especially in the developed economies of the globe coupled with a decent growth in the digitally literate population in the developing economies. Additionally, the strict regulations by the government of various countries with respect to the proper information of the product that has to be given on the labels of the products is also offering lucrative opportunities for the key market players to invest and the market and gain a competitive edge over other players.
Segment Overview:
The global smart labels market has been segmented on the basis of technology, end-user industry, and geography. On the basis of technology, the market has been segmented on the basis of electronic article surveillance (EAS), RFID, NFC, and electronic shelf label (ESL). By the end-user industry, the market has been segmented into healthcare, FMCG, transport and logistics, manufacturing, retail, and others. Geographically, the global smart labels market has been distributed into North America, South America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Asia Pacific.
RFID to Hold a Considerable Market Share
On the basis of technology, RFID technology is projected to hold a considerable share in the market throughout the next five years. The major factor supporting the share of this segment in the global market is the wide adoption of this technology especially for inventory management purposes which further helps in the improves operational efficiency. Furthermore, the RFID systems also help in the prevention of thefts as well as counterfeiting as these offer real-time tracking of the products. The electronic article surveillance technology is expected to show a healthy growth throughout the forecast period on account of the growing adoption of this technology across the merchandise stores and libraries. Thus, significant growth in the number of libraries and merchandise stores around the globe is projected to propel the opportunities for the market to grow in the near future. The market for the electronic shelf label technology is anticipated to witness a healthy growth over the next five years on account of its adoption across various industries due to reduce the costs and improve efficiency as printing labels and pasting new labels for the products with dynamic pricing further adds up to the operating costs of the companies.
Healthcare Segment Is Projected to Show a Healthy Growth
By the end-user industry, the healthcare segment is anticipated to show healthy growth opportunities for the market to grow in the near future. The burgeoning adoption of technology across the healthcare sector of both developed and developing economies of the world. Various applications of smart labels in the healthcare industry include the tracing of medicines, blood samples, so the right medications should reach the right patients. The burgeoning investments in smart hospitals especially across the developed economies is further providing an impetus for the market to grow in the near future. Furthermore, the rising investments in the healthcare sector across various countries for the adoption of advanced technologies that are aimed towards the enhancement of patient care services and treatments is also playing a significant role in driving the smart labels market growth over the next five years. For instance, according to the data from the World Bank Group, the healthcare expenditure (% of GDP) in Brazil reached 9.467% by 2017 from 7.949% in 2010.
Current Healthcare Expenditure (% of GDP) – Brazil
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Source: The World Bank Group
APAC to Show Promising Growth Over the Next Five Years
Geographically, the global smart labels market is projected to witness a healthy growth in the APAC region on account of the considerably large manufacturing base in countries like India, China, Vietnam, and South Korea among others. This, coupled with the growth of the manufacturing output across these countries will further supplement the market growth in the Asia Pacific region during the next five years.
Manufacturing, Value Added (Current US$) – China, India, South Korea, US$ Billion, 2010-2019
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Source: The World Bank Group
Furthermore, the North American region is projected to hold a substantial share in the market throughout the forecast period. The major factor bolstering the significant share of the region is the presence of a considerably large share of digitally literate population coupled with the presence of well-established packaging industry. Furthermore, the presence of key market players in the region is further supplementing the growth in the region during the next five years.
Key Developments
· June 2020, Smartrac and Avery Dennison Corporation together announced the launch of their latest product offering, Circus Tamper Loop Pro inlays and tags that combine the tamper detection of products and also offer highly secure product authentication.
· February 2020, CCL Industries Inc., announced the acquisition of Clinical Systems Inc., which is a leading label producer that primarily serves the clinical trials industry in the United States.
February 2020, CCL Industries Inc., announced that it acquired a privately owned company Ibertex Etiquetaje Industrial S.L.U. and Eti-Textil Maroc S.a.r.l. AU. Eti-Textil, a label producer for the apparel industry in Spain.
