According to the latest projects from ABI Research, global fingerprint biometric device sales are expected to fall by 22%, equating to roughly a $1.6 billion loss in revenue.
While the culprits are COVID-related budgetary restrictions, a shift in commercial investments, and implementing better hygiene habits, the market is projected to see future growth again in 2021. As a matter of fact, the biometric market is forecasted to become a $40 billion industry by 2025.
Dimitrios Pavlakis, a digital security industry analyst at ABI, explains this current downward trend in the biometrics realm. The first reason, Pavlakis suggests, is “due to economic reforms during the crisis which forced governments to constrain budgets and focus on damage control, personnel well-being, and operational efficiency.” He further suggests that another reason for the decline within the industry is the “rise of the remote workers” that became the norm in 2020.
Lastly, Pavlakis states the obvious. One of the largest indicators of the downturning market is hygiene concerns. These have forced the sudden drop in fingerprint devices that we have seen so far.
While the biometric industry is still forecasted to grow, we have seen many strides and innovation within the industry since the start of COVID. The findings from ABI Research's Biometric Technologies and Applications market data conclude that we will soon head further into this period of transformation when it comes to biometrics and their application towards additional surveillance, facial recognition, monitoring, and more.