"Retailers are suffering because the general public is being more cautious with its money," Mike Davies, retail vice-president at IT services supplier Wipro, told Computer Weekly. "Anything retailers can do to get closer to customers and influence their spending patterns and behaviors has to be beneficial."
The Ovum report, 2010 Trends to Watch: Retail Technology, said that especially with store staffs expected to be kept a minimum, mobile handsets and automated management processes should be utilized to improve the efficiency of retail staffs.
"Software which helps to manage the workforce and talent so that experienced, trained or knowledgeable members of staff are available when the customer needs assistance should be areas for technological investment," said the report.
Social networking and mobile shopping technologies are also expected to get some attention.
"Countries like Thailand are really embracing mobile shopping," said Doug Hargrove, chief marketing officer at retail IT specialist Torex. "Even in the UK, all the pieces of the jigsaw are there, so I wouldn't be surprised if mobile technology is adopted within the next 12 months."
Meanwhile, interviews of some of the nation's leading C-level executives by the National Retail Federation BIG Show Expo producers likewise indicated that the industry is focusing on technology solutions geared toward the consumers.
The interviews - many of which will be available at The Innovation Station on the EXPO Hall floor at the convention - identified six key challenges for the retail industry:
- Delivering the bottom line
- Connecting with your customer
- Cross channel integration
- Creating customer experience
- Building customer loyalty
- Maximizing mobile retailing
Pinny Gniwsisch, founder and EVP at ice.com, the online jeweler, said retailers should make sure that when they're cutting costs, "they're not cutting the wrong things." He emphasized the benefits of investing in innovation.
"If you think about site evaluation, the little changes - putting this button here, adding this shipping cost earlier in the process and all these little tweaks that you can find out with Google analytics ... if you look at those numbers and stay innovative, you're going to make it through the downturn," said Mr. Gniwsisch.
Delaney Bellinger, chief information officer, Yum! Brands, said her company focuses on proven technologies.
"It's a low-margin and very lean industry so we can't just put wiz-bang stuff out there that kind of gooks good," said Ms. Bellinger. "It's got to have a return on investment."
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