real-time location systems Market

The real-time location system market size was valued at US$ 6.16 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach US$ 40.70 billion by 2031; it is estimated to record a CAGR of 26.6% from 2023 to 2031. 

The real-time location systems market is broadly segmented into five major regions: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), the Middle East & Africa (MEA), and South America (SAM). North America held the largest market share in 2023, followed by APAC and Europe. APAC is expected to register the highest CAGR in the market from 2023 to 2031. 

The market growth in North America is attributed to the increasing number of internet users. According to the World Bank Group, ~92% of the population in the region uses the internet. Such high internet penetration in the region is fueling the growth of the North America ecommerce industry. According to the Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce, the US retail ecommerce sales for the first quarter of 2024 was US$ 289.2 billion, an increase of 2.1% compared to the fourth quarter of 2023. Thus, the growth of the ecommerce industry is driving the real-time location systems market in North America.

The Europe real-time location systems market is projected to grow with the significant rate owing to the growing oil and gas exploration activities. The use of RTLS in the oil & gas industry will help track asset and personnel location, which can improve the plant's operational efficiency, raising its demand in the region. In addition, other industries such as manufacturing and automotive are also adopting RTLS and SLAM solutions, as it provides alerts and notifications in danger, data representation in a geospatial facility map, and asset tracking to reduce the need for manual and labor-intensive processes. Moreover, the growing transportation & logistics sector in countries such as the UK, Germany, France, and Spain, is anticipated to enhance the market growth for inventory and warehouse management, transportation management, and inbound and outbound logistics management, propelling the growth of the real-time location systems market in Europe. 

Increased demand for real-time location systems in developing economies, such as India and China, is expected to create lucrative opportunities for market players in Asia Pacific during the forecast period. The growing manufacturing, retail, and logistics industries are raising the need for asset tracking, fueling the demand for real-time locating systems in the region. The rising demand for RTLS and SLAM in the above industries is pushing the market players to provide advanced solutions to customers. According to the State Council of China, the retail industry is booming in the country with an increased sales of 11% in 2023 accounting 2.24 trillion compared to the previous year. The growing demand for advanced technologies in these countries is expected to fuel the growth of the real-time location systems market in APAC. 

In the MEA, the growing oil & gas exploration and drilling activities are raising the demand for RTLS and SLAM solutions, as it helps track personnel location, which can further help provide alerts in any kind of danger. Also, as the solutions help improve asset management, the operational efficiency at the oil & gas exploration plant increases, boosting the market's growth in the MEA. The growing automobile manufacturing in SAM is expected to fuel the growth of the real-time location systems market as it helps improve inventory management, tool and equipment tracking, and damage detection in the automotive industry.

Based on industry vertical, the real-time location systems market is segmented into retail, government & defense, manufacturing, healthcare, logistics, heavy industries, construction, oil & gas, automotive, and others. The healthcare segment held the largest real-time location system market share. Real-time location systems in healthcare settings are utilized to provide real-time tracking and management of staff, patients, and medical equipment within all types of patient care environments. While the locating systems differ from using location data captured by satellite trilateration, it can be considered as a type of indoor GPS for hospitals. Apart from locating tagged assets, accurate locating technology integrates with a variety of healthcare IT solutions that allow facilities to improve workflow, reduce costs, and increase clinical quality. Moreover, various companies are providing RTLS for healthcare applications. For instance, CenTrak, Inc. provides RTLS in healthcare, which drives the adoption and the integration of technology platforms (Wi-Fi, infrared, Bluetooth low energy, low frequency, and others), hardware infrastructure (readers and exciters), and other components (servers and middleware & end-use software).

Aruba Networks, AiRISTA Flow Inc, Qorvo Inc, Impinj Inc, Siemens AG, Zebra Technologies Corp, Sonitor Technologies AS, Stanley Black & Decker Inc, TeleTracking Technologies Inc, Ubisense Ltd, Slamcore Ltd, Kudan Inc, Microsoft Corp, Sevensense Robotics AG, and NavVis GmbH are among the key real-time location system market players that are profiled in this market study. 

The overall real-time location system market size has been derived using both primary and secondary sources. Exhaustive secondary research has been conducted using internal and external sources to obtain qualitative and quantitative information related to the real-time location system market size. The process also helps obtain an overview and forecast of the market with respect to all the market segments. Also, multiple primary interviews have been conducted with industry participants to validate the data and gain analytical insights. This process includes industry experts such as VPs, business development managers, market intelligence managers, and national sales managers, along with external consultants such as valuation experts, research analysts, and key opinion leaders, specializing in the real-time location system market.