Smart Tracker Market - Growth, Trends, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

The global smart tracker market (henceforth referred to as the market studied) was valued at USD 421.02 million in 2020, and it is expected to reach USD 911.58 million by 2027, registering a CAGR of 12.8% during the period of 2020-2027. With the growing penetration of smartphones, the user base and demand for these devices have increased exponentially. According to the data published by Ericsson, the subscriptions associated with smartphones accounted for about 70% of all mobile phone subscriptions at the end of 2019, reaching 5.5 billion at the end of the year, and it is expected to reach 7.5 billion in 2025.

Key Highlights

• Owing to the proliferation of smart devices, the demand for trackers capable of connecting to smartphones for tracking various day-to-day life items is increasing. In recent years, consumer awareness of such trackers has increased significantly, owing to various emerging vendors' efforts to commercialize the product and reduce its cost. Such devices are prone to reduce the time and effort spent on finding the missing items and reduce the anxiety associated with losing an item.
• TV remotes, phones, car keys, glasses, shoes, and wallets/purses were amongst the most commonly misplaced or lost items. According to a study by Pixie, nearly a quarter of Americans mentioned misplacing their house or car keys twice a week and misplaced items regularly due to being late for work or school. The study also found that consumers spend about 2.5 days a year looking for lost items, spending about USD 2.7 billion a year replacing misplaced possessions. The millennials are among the most common generation that tends to misplace an item, such as TV remote, keys, shoes, wallets/purses, glasses, and phones.
• With the growing consumer awareness of the product and vendors increasing the range of the products are positively influencing the demand. For instance, Tile increased the range of its Mate product from 150 feet to 200 feet and also offered Mate Pro, which has an extended range of 400 feet. Bluetooth-based trackers are expected to gain traction under the smart home solutions as these have a shorter range which can offer to find the products lost in the home, building, or other premises.
• The smart tracker is a smart wearable that offers a variety of options for COVID-19 tracking and tracing, as well as giving actionable information and increasing patient safety. The system allows for real-time alerts, monitoring, and incident reporting, which is essential for COVID-19 patient monitoring and position tracking and tracing using Geo-fencing. With a focus on protecting workplace safety during the COVID-19 pandemic, enterprises may use the smart tracking solution to transform them into more productive and efficient environments.
• Smart tracker vendors in the market are increasingly offering intuitive features; one such innovative feature is virtual assistant support. Consumers can find their items by asking their virtual assistants, such as Alexa or Google Home. This feature is expected to further augment the demand for trackers over the coming years.

Key Market Trends

Cellular Technology to Dominate Market

• The smart device industry is growing exponentially with developers and designers embedding different sensors, processors, and memories in small-size electronic devices. Sensors are added to enhance these devices' usability and improve the quality of experience through data collection and analysis. Smart trackers play a vital role in IoE. They are equipped with multi communication interfaces, such as cellular communications.
• Moreover, as homes become increasingly computerized, an embedded cellular connection is being used to deliver software updates to the connected devices in smart homes using Over The Air (OTA) methods.
• In the recent past, Google purchased gesture-recognition software developer Flutter, smart meter developer Nest Labs, and robotics specialist Boston Dynamics. In contrast, Apple released the HomeKit developer framework for creating different iOS apps that can communicate with and control the connected accessories in a user's smart home.
• With significant market traction in the studied market, several market incumbents are offering cellular-based smart tracker systems to cater to the surging demand. Several market incumbents are offering smart trackers, such as the Nutale Focus Smart Tracker (USD 25) and Samsung's SmartThings Item Tracker (USD 100), which use cellular connectivity to locate items.

Asia Pacific is Expected to Witness the Significant Growth

• China is at the forefront when it comes to the adoption of the latest technological innovation. The increasing adoption of AI technology leads to a rise in the demand for the country's smart tracker market. The State Council of China recently detailed its strategy to become the leading AI superpower by 2030 by building a USD 150 billion national AI industry in the future.
• Owing to the increasing demand, several regional players are offering smart device trackers to capitalize on the market opportunity. For instance, Shenzhen Wonlex Technology Co. Ltd offers Wonlex mini tracker S01 with a built-in battery 350mAh, and it further incorporates GPS tracking.
• Also, in countries like Japan, growth in the studied market is attributed to factors such as a significantly growing IoT market, cost reduction measures enabled by home automation systems, several manufacturers expanding their product portfolios, and the growing importance of home monitoring and tracking from a remote location.​
• Other countries like South Korea, Singapore, Australia, India, Malaysia, etc. in the region also have high potential scope for gaining a considerable share in the smart tracker market.​

Competitive Landscape

The smart tracker market is highly fragmented and home to numerous vendors that cater to the demand. However, few prominent vendors, such as Tile, Samsung, Chipolo, and others, command higher consumer awareness of their product offerings. The companies enter into strategic partnerships in order to increase their market share.

• January 2021 - Tile was set to launch a new device competing with Apple's long-awaited AirTags and other upcoming lost-item trackers. Tile's new product will use UWB (ultra-wideband) technology to locate lost goods.
• January 2021 - Samsung launched a tiny Bluetooth device that, like Tile, may be used to find misplaced objects. The Galaxy SmartTag functions similarly to a Tile tracker. It's a tiny Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) dongle you can connect to a key ring. It connects to a smartphone using Samsung's SmartThings app, which may display its most recent position on a map.

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