The technology of pos terminals is becoming more versatile to meet the advancing needs of the retail market. As such, terminals that are handheld and wireless or equipped with near field communications (NFC) functionality are projected by industry experts to become more prevalent in coming years. The former, in particular, is expected to grow significantly, according to a recent published report.

WinterGreen Research's market report, titled "Handheld Point of Sale (POS) Device Market Shares, Strategies and Forecasts, Worldwide, 2012 to 2018," denotes the major growth projections for shipments of handheld payment terminals. This metric is expected to increase to $3.1 billion by 2018, and as it accounted for a total of $1.1 billion in 2018, the uptick will come out to 182 per cent in the years between.

The abstract of the research concludes that the versatility, wireless connectivity and wider range of functions provided by handheld pos terminals will serve as the primary drivers of shipment growth in the market.

Susan Eustis, the study's lead author, further summed up the value of handheld terminals.

"The purchase of handheld point of sale (POS) is driven by the need for modernization of restaurants, retail, healthcare, and supply chain," Eustis stated. "The handheld POS devices support flexibility and analytics implementation permitting more informed conduct of the business."