Market Trends of Biometrics-as-a-Service Industry
This section covers the major market trends shaping the Biometrics-as-a-Service Market according to our research experts:
Retail is Expected to Hold Significant Share
- The applications of biometrics in the retail industry are primarily for access control for employees, which may enable the retailers to curb inventory theft. With e-commerce creating an edge over the brick and mortar stores, in terms of customer experiences, retailers are deploying marketing, data, and analytics tools to enhance the customer experience. They are taking the aid of identification methods, like biometrics, for securing their customer data. Brick and mortar retailers, therefore, use biometrics to deliver customer-loyalty programs based on historical customer data (obtained by biometrics) to retain their existing customers in the competitive retail market.
- As brick and mortar retailers adopt the online business platform for new revenue streams to create an omnichannel presence, the need for securing customer data increases even more. With the consumers using mobile phones for shopping, the emergence of m-commerce (mobile-commerce), along with e-commerce, also provides scope for identity theft of customers making the payment transactions. Further, with the data streaming from all the kiosks, POS (in brick and mortar stores), and the increasing requirement for these to be integrated into a centralized source with the available customer data, Biometrics-as-a-Service is gaining prominence in the retail industry.
- In March 2019, NtechLab signed an agreement with Watcom Group which is a Russian firm specializing in the analysis of visitor flows in shopping centers and stores. The companies are planning to create solutions for retail companies' managers, who will be able to make decisions based on customers' gender, age, and emotions. The technology can also be used to track employees' working time and attendance and watch for unwanted visitors. In October 2019, the software technology company, Vsblty, signed a global reseller agreement with Sensormatic Solutions, a part of Johnson Controls, to deliver biometric shopper analytics and loss prevention solutions.
- Additionally, retailers are using biometrics to increase their supply chain efficiencies by refurbishing only those in demand. Biometrics is also being leveraged to enhance customer experience and measure and maximize retail intelligence for both retailers and major consumer brands. For instance, in July 2019, Kairos launched a plug and play data visualization and analytics solution which even includes biometric facial recognition, for retail stores to gather demographic and tracking information about customers. The solution provides data on the customer's age, gender, emotion, dwell time, and new and return visits.
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North America is Expected to Hold the Largest Share
- According to the Federal Trade Commission, identity thefts related to payment and banking sectors are prominent in the United States. In turn, it would boost the adoption of advanced authentication services, such as biometrics. The United States government agencies are also engaging in the adoption of biometric technology for identification and security purposes. The use of facial recognition biometrics and personal data security is still a significant concern during the pandemic. The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) projects to have a face, fingerprint, and iris scans of at least 259 million people in its biometrics database by 2022, with respect to a recent presentation from the agency’s Office of Procurement Operations reviewed by Quartz.
- Citing the threat of the coronavirus to the American public, the US government said in March 2020 that it would begin rapidly sending people who illegally cross the United States borders to their respective home countries and would stop the processing of undocumented migrants at the entry ports. Under the new rule, set to take effect in March 2020, Border Patrol agents will be issued biometric tools to process migrants in the field. In May 2020, DHS’s biometric advanced recognition technology system begins the road to the cloud with Homeland Advanced Recognition Technology System (HART), which is replacing DHS’s legacy Automated Biometric Identification System (IDENT); as the department’s primary system for storing and processing biometric and associated biographic information.
- In June 2020, US-based IoT network start-up, Qopper, launched two new products, The Occupancy Monitor, and the Temperature Kiosk, for helping retail and commercial businesses safely reopen following the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions. Company’s Temperature Kiosks for Touchless Check-Ins come equipped with thermographic temperature scanners to identify any individual who may have a fever, one of the symptoms of COVID-19. The kiosks are capable of facial recognition or QR code-based authentication as a form of access control for added security. They are compatible with Workforce Management Systems like Kronos for clock-in/ clock-out capabilities.
- US-based Clear, biometrics firm that has developed biometric-based solutions to bypass travel documents at the security check-in airports has now shifted their focus into COVID-19 screening. The company is rolling out health e-pass that will link health data to verified IDs so that businesses can track their employees. In 2020, US-based Cognizant launched touchless authorization processing for healthcare service providers, and Infosys launched contact-less baggage management solutions for a North American airline. In the US, many citizens are still concern about adopting facial recognition technology. Industry experts claim that facial recognition for specific purposes at airports may be justified, but indefinite storage of health, travel, and other data is illegitimate.
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