Where Retailers Are Headed In 2013

December 2012 Integrated Solutions For Retailers

By Steve Rowen, managing partner, RSR Research

Cross-channel commerce as well as marketing & promotions need a crucial makeover in 2013.

Integrated Solutions for Retailers recently conducted its annual year-end poll of retailers, asking a sample size of more than 200 retailers about which technology projects they took on in 2012 and which they have plans (and budget) to take on in 2013. We were honored when our partners at ISR asked us to take a look at the resulting data and comment on the trends we saw emerging.

While some of the spend categories were brand new for this year (Customer Experience Management, In-Store Traffic Counting — both of which hold strong retailer interest), the majority were tried-and-true, year-over-year technologies, and their steady incline/decline made perfect retail sense. For example: Projects to improve payment processing have been steadily inclining over the last four years; improvements to the warehouse/ distribution center have been climbing for the past three.