The retail industry continues to be a hotbed of patent innovation. Activity is driven by cybersecurity and technology, and growing importance of technologies such as geofencing and cloud. In the last three years alone, there have been over 156,000 patents filed and granted in the retail industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Cybersecurity in retail: PoS geofencing. Buy the report here.
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According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which uses over 115,000 patents to analyze innovation intensity for the retail industry, there are 50+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.
POS geofencing is a key innovation area in cybersecurity
Geofencing is a technology that sets virtual boundaries and triggers events when a mobile device with a certain software installed in it crosses the boundary. In terms of cybersecurity, geofencing can be employed to prevent users from a specific region from entering a company’s network and systems.
GlobalData’s analysis also uncovers the companies at the forefront of each innovation area and assesses the potential reach and impact of their patenting activity across different applications and geographies. According to GlobalData, there are 60+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established retail companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of POS geofencing.
Key players in POS geofencing– a disruptive innovation in the retail industry
‘Application diversity’ measures the number of applications identified for each patent. It broadly splits companies into either ‘niche’ or ‘diversified’ innovators.
‘Geographic reach’ refers to the number of countries each patent is registered in. It reflects the breadth of geographic application intended, ranging from ‘global’ to ‘local’.
Patent volumes related to POS geofencing
Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics
In terms of patents filed, leading players in the POS geofencing space are Headwater Research, Headwater Partners I, Visa, Huawei, Alibaba, Apple, PayPal, and Amazon.com. In July 2021, Amazon Web Services launched Amazon Location Service, which helps businesses enhance their own applications by adding location functionality. The service offers geofencing, maps, geocoding, and asset tracking.
In terms of application diversity, leading players in the POS geofencing space are Comcast, Eagency, STMicroelectronics, Sony Group, and Princo.
In terms of geographic reach, leading players in this space are Headwater Research, Headwater Partners I, Alibaba Group and Xiaomi.
Geofencing enables the generation of automatic alerts based on a geographic area’s defined coordinates. The technology can be used by retailers for advertising purposes.
To further understand the key themes and technologies disrupting the retail industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Cybersecurity in Retail.
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GlobalData, the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article.
GlobalData’s Patent Analytics tracks patent filings and grants from official offices around the world. Textual analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries.
