Research from Omdia's Industrial and Public Display & OEM Market Intelligence Service indicates that global demand for retail point-of-sale (POS) display equipment is expected to remain under pressure through 2026. Specifically, shipments of mobile POS display devices are projected to fall by 11.5% year-on-year to 11.7 million units, while shipments of standalone POS display devices are forecast to decline by 8.6% to 3.2 million units.
Despite the overall weakness in shipment volumes, the retail POS market is undergoing a structural transformation driven by shifts in payment methods and rising hardware costs. This shift is creating new growth opportunities for higher-value-added display solutions.
SoftPOS Adoption Reshapes Demand
The accelerated adoption of SoftPOS, particularly in markets like North America, Europe, Australia, Brazil, India, and Southeast Asia, is reshaping demand for retail POS display hardware. This technology enables merchants to accept contactless payments directly using existing computing devices, thereby reducing reliance on mobile POS terminals equipped with separate NFC readers. This trend is gradually extending to standalone POS systems and self-service kiosk platforms.
Different types of retail POS equipment utilize displays of varying sizes. Mobile POS devices primarily use screens ranging from 5 to 8 inches, whereas standalone POS systems typically employ 15-inch, 15.6-inch, and 21.5-inch displays. Concurrently, persistently rising costs for processors, memory, and storage are placing significant pressure on POS brands, especially those utilizing x86 platforms. Omdia anticipates that the bill-of-materials (BOM) cost for standalone POS systems could increase by 30% to 60% in 2026, depending on the platform configuration. Consequently, many brands are opting to build inventory ahead of time in the first half of the year and are meeting some market demand with existing lower-specification products, substituting for the procurement of some new models.
NFC-Embedded Display Technology Drives Hardware Integration
Amidst these mounting cost pressures, POS brands are increasingly prioritizing cost optimization and actively exploring solutions to simplify hardware architecture. One design that is regaining market attention for 2026 involves integrating NFC functionality directly into the display's back bezel. This architecture can reduce dependency on separate NFC readers, meeting contactless payment needs while further streamlining overall system design.
As payment functionality becomes increasingly integrated into display hardware, industrial display suppliers with capabilities in NFC integration, payment certification support, and customized module design are expected to capture higher product value-add. This trend is also expanding from traditional standalone POS systems to 21.5-inch, 23.8-inch, and 27-inch self-service kiosk platforms, presenting more market opportunities for display suppliers.
Currently, several panel manufacturers, including AUO Display Plus, BOE, Innolux, and Tianma, have already launched NFC-embedded display solutions and are actively pursuing the necessary certifications for the retail payment market. Looking ahead, some panel makers are also evaluating the feasibility of integrating the NFC sensing layer directly onto the display's color filter. This approach could enable full-screen NFC sensing, expanding the effective sensing area while reducing the integration constraints associated with traditional antenna layouts in retail POS systems.
An Omdia chief analyst commented, "Although retail POS display shipments are expected to decline in the short term, NFC-embedded displays will become an important high-value growth opportunity for industrial display suppliers. Omdia expects the penetration rate of NFC-embedded display technology to continue rising through 2027, as POS ODM and brand manufacturers accelerate the deployment of platforms supporting SoftPOS and continue to reduce peripheral hardware costs."
The accompanying chart illustrates retail POS display shipment forecasts and NFC-embedded display penetration rates for 2024–2027.
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