Near Field Communication Market

Near Field Communication Market Statistics: 2028

The global NFC market size was valued at $15,531 million in 2019, and is projected to reach $54,521 million by 2028, registering a CAGR of 14.8% from 2021 to 2028. Near field communication (NFC) is a short-range wireless connectivity technology that makes life convenient and easier for consumers across the globe by enabling simpler exchange of the digital content, transactions, and connection with different electronic devices. It is mainly used in smartphones, laptops, and tablets for short range of data exchange (up to 10 cm or less). This technology is used for marketing and payment applications; however, it is also being used in many other applications such as chip-enabled mobile marketing, ticketing, identity & access, and gaming.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly pushed the growth rate of the near field communication market owing to the rise in demand for contactless solutions. In addition to this, factors such as growing use of NFC technology in smart packaging for healthcare and surge in demand for NFC in emerging medical applications due to the pandemic has created lucrative growth opportunities for the market. For instance, in May 2020, SUKU, the blockchain company partnered with Smartrac, an Avery Dennison company, to digitally authenticate and verify COVID-19 test kits and PPE using a near field communication (NFC) RFID tag.

On the basis of product type, the NFC readers segment exhibited the highest NFC market share in 2019, and is expected to maintain its dominance in the upcoming years. This is attributed to its emerging applications as well as surge in demand for NFC readers in access control and authentication applications. In addition, NFC reader comes in compact size and offers various features such as access control, payments, mass transit, and attendance check. However, the NFC tags segment is expected to witness the highest growth, due to the high demand from payments and access control applications.

By end user, the global NFC market share was dominated by the consumer electronics segment in 2019 and is expected to maintain its dominance in the upcoming years, due to emergence of innovative consumer electronics products that integrate NFC technology. However, the healthcare segment is expected to witness the highest growth, owing to rise in adoption of near field communication to keep track of patients’ medical record. Companies introduced their new innovations such as wearable near field communication (NFC) tags for the healthcare industry. INFOSKIN is a wearable NFC tag that has multiple applications. It helps improve patient care with the automatic time stamps that helps record patient activity and allows easy maintenance and update of patient records in the healthcare & medical sector

Asia-Pacific is expected to observe the highest growth rate during the forecast period, due to increased adoption and awareness of NFC technology into transportation and retail industry. In addition, high penetration of smartphones in the countries such as India and China drives the growth of the near field communication market in the region. For instance, as per the study by Omidyar Network, mobile phone penetration in India is set to rise to 85-90% by 2020 from the levels of 65-75% in 2017.

The report focuses on the growth prospects, restraints, and near field communication market analysis. The study provides Porter’s five forces analysis of the near field communication industry to understand the impact of various factors such as bargaining power of suppliers, competitive intensity of competitors, threat of new entrants, threat of substitutes, and bargaining power of buyers on the NFC market trends.

Segment review

The NFC market is segmented on the basis of product type, operating mode, end user, and region. By product type, it is categorized into NFC tags, NFC ICs/Chips, SIM cards, NFC readers, and others. By operating mode, it is classified into read/write mode, peer-to-peer mode, and card emulation mode. By end user, it is divided into retail, transportation, automotive, residential & commercial, medical & healthcare, consumer electronics, banking & finance, hospitality, and others. By region, it is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA.

COVID Impact Analysis

The current estimation of 2028 is projected to be higher than pre-COVID-19 estimates. The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly pushed the growth rate of the near field communication market owing to the rise in demand for contactless solutions. During the pandemic, businesses are faced with various challenges such as fluctuating supply chains, shifting business hours, and protecting their employees while ensuring that the public health is a priority. Therefore, contactless technologies such as NFC tags and others are experiencing an increase in demand during the pandemic. In addition, the market players have introduced innovative near field communication enabled products during the pandemic to ensure better customer experiences. This factor drives the market growth. For instance, in May 2019, Samsung Electronics launched a vertical TV that uses NFC functionality to work as a standard TV in horizontal mode and as a mirror of a user’s phone when in vertical mode.

Top impacting factors

The global NFC market is expected to exhibit robust growth during the forecast period. The need for convenient transfer and security of data and the proliferation of smartphones are the factors anticipated to boost the near field communication market growth. In addition, demand for improved customer experience along with the rise in demand for contactless payments due to the COVID-19 pandemic significantly fuel the growth of the market. However, short operational range and security concerns hamper the growth of the market during the near field communication market forecast period. On the other hand, surge in adoption of NFC-enabled wearable technology and recent technological advancements in NFC create lucrative growth opportunities for the market growth.

Rise in proliferation of smartphones

Smartphones have become an important part of the consumer’s lives today. Along with the traditional modes of communication, consumers are using their smartphones to make easier and faster payments. NFC provides convenient mode of payments since it merges a consumer’s mobile device with his/her wallet thereby enabling the user to make mobile transactions, easily exchange digital content, and connect their device with other devices through touch. Thus, there is an increase in number of smartphones enabled with NFC technology. This contributes toward the growth and trend of NFC technology among the developing economies. For instance, March 2021, Paytm, the digital payments company announced to let merchants use smartphones to accept near field communication (NFC)-based credit and debit card payments through its “Paytm Smart POS” for Android phones.

Surge in focus toward providing improved customer experience 

Companies can lock in their customers by providing NFC-enabled contactless payments and other diversified extended range of applications that can help them improve their workflow as well as improve customer experience. In addition, new uses of NFC such as smart posters, NFC-enabled smart cars, and smart sensors have gained popularity among the consumers, especially the young and technically inclined customers proving an opportunity to the established brands to enter new markets. Apart from payments and device-to-device sharing, NFC technology is being used for boarding passes and security access by airlines, keyless entries for offices, buildings, and cars, thereby offering growth opportunities for the NFC market. 

Key Benefits For Stakeholders

• This study includes the market analysis, near field communication market trends, and future estimations to determine the imminent investment pockets.
• The report presents information related to key drivers, restraints, and near field communication market opportunity.
• The NFC market size is quantitatively analyzed from 2019 to 2027 to highlight the financial competency of the industry.
• Porter’s five forces analysis illustrates the potency of buyers & suppliers in near field communication market.

 Near Field Communication Market Report Highlights