Payment Systems in the Petroleum Markets: Industry Research Report

Payment Systems in the Petroleum Markets

Published Date: May 2006

Published By: Frost & Sullivan

Order Code: R1-4894

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Description

Table of Contents

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Research Overview

This Frost & Sullivan research service entitled Payment Systems in the Petroleum Markets includes a comprehensive analysis of key market drivers and restraints and industry challenges facing vendors to these markets. It provides extensive coverage of both types of POS terminals, namely stand-alone and integrated. This research service also provides detailed unit shipment and revenue forecasts for POS terminals in the retail petroleum industry.

Market Sectors

Expert Frost & Sullivan analysts thoroughly examine the following market sectors in this research service:

By Type of Terminal:

Stand-alone
Integrated

By Geographic Region:

North America
Europe, Middle East, Africa
Rest-of-the-world

Technologies

The following technologies are covered in this research service:

TCP/IP
Wireless (Wi-fi, Bluetooth)
Touchscreen
Smart cards

Market Overview

Hypermarkets’ Venture into Retail Petroleum Spells Good News for POS Terminal Manufacturers

In a significant emerging trend in the retail petroleum industry, supermarkets, large discount stores, and mass merchandisers are increasingly installing fuel dispensers in their parking lots to offer added convenience, and thereby attract more customers. The entry of such hypermarkets into the retail petroleum business has met with considerable success due to competitive fuel pricing, discounted prices linked to customized loyalty programs, and cross-merchandising. As a result, hypermarket sales of gasoline have been steadily increasing, registering more than 20 billion gallons since 2001. Moreover, they account for a significant market share of more than 15 per cent.

Currently, a few major hypermarkets dominate this area, namely Albertson’s, Kmart, Kroger and Wal-Mart, which control more than half the total hypermarket fuel sites. This poses a strong challenge to the smaller gas station owners whose numbers have been dwindling in the last few years. "However, for point-of-sale (POS) terminal manufacturers, the foray of hypermarkets into the retail petroleum industry has created a rapidly developing segment offering excellent growth opportunities," remarks the analyst of this research service. "Terminal manufacturers must act fast to capitalize on these opportunities in order to achieve continued growth in a sluggish market, especially in North America."

Move Toward Integrated POS Terminals

In the retail petroleum industry, the major oil companies (MOCs) that own the majority of retail sites are located across the globe. This creates a need for globally acceptable solutions in spite of the various region-specific needs related to language and culture. In this respect, the bigger POS terminal manufacturers have a distinct advantage, as they possess the necessary financial and human resources to develop specific systems that can address this requirement. These companies are not only able to offer compatible hardware, their strong infrastructure and ubiquitous presence enables them to provide superior services to end users as well as key insights into local market dynamics.

In essence, there are two kinds of POS terminals in use - stand-alone and integrated. While stand-alone terminals perform limited functions and are remotely located inside the particular store, integrated systems are connected to the dispensers in the forecourt and can also handle back-office functions. However, the trend is increasingly moving toward replacing the installed base of stand-alone terminals with integrated ones, since the latter are capable of multiple functions, thereby offering retailers much-needed differentiation. "With contactless payment and pay-at-the-pump concepts also catching on worldwide, there are numerous growth opportunities available for vendors," notes the analyst. "However, due to price considerations, compliance issues, and lack of awareness of the latest technologies, the growth is neither uniform nor progressing at the rate anticipated by the industry."

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