2010 Planned Research Agenda

Our research advisory services encompass topics covering several topics in the global retail market. Within each advisory service we plan a series of research projects spanning the range of interest areas each service covers. Our IDC Retail Insights analysts have planned dozens of research projects to help you get the most out of your business in the coming year. The information presented here represents some of our current plans (which are subject to change).

Additionally, Insights research can become the foundation or springboard for custom consulting projects that delve into topics important to your business, such as evaluating new business opportunities, understanding a market segment, exploring new technologies for your operations, improving knowledge of your customers, increasing customer satisfaction, developing a competitive strategy, and more.

Because our Research Agenda may change during the course of the year, regularly check this section for updates. To learn more about the planned research agenda or to learn about regional or country plans, please contact us.

European IT Opportunity: Retail and Wholesale
IDC Retail Insights' European IT Opportunity: Retail and Wholesale advisory service provides insights into the Western European distribution sector, with a specific focus on retail and wholesale markets and communication technology (ICT) strategies applied to improve retail supply chain and demand planning efficiencies, store operations management, cross-channel sales, and business performance management at a corporate level. Our analysis includes estimates on ICT spending in the sector based on primary end-user research, competitive assessments of ICT vendors targeting retail and wholesale, and continuous monitoring of the market aimed at identifying key industry business trends and ICT investment trends.
Document Type	Document Title	Publish Date
Pivot Table	Western European Retail/Wholesale IT Spending Guide 2007-2012 Update	Oct-Dec 2009
Business Strategy	Retailing Trends in MEA, CEE, Russia	Oct-Dec 2009
Vendor Assessment	Top-15 ICT Vendors in EMEA Retail, 2009	Oct-Dec 2009
Perspective	EMEA Retail Industry Update: July to September 2009	Oct-Dec 2009
Business Strategy	Food Store Strategies, European Perspectives & Future Trends	Oct-Dec 2009
Best Practices	Al Batha E-City Case Study: Investing in POS Scalability	Oct-Dec 2009
Top 10 Predictions	Global Retail Top 10 Predictions for 2010	Jan-Mar 2010
Perspective	EMEA Retail Industry Update: October to December 2009	Jan-Mar 2010
Perspective	National Retail Federation (NRF) 2010 Review	Jan-Mar 2010
Business Strategy	EMEA Consumer Electronics Retail Business Strategies and IT Directions	Jan-Mar 2010
Pivot Table	Western European Retail/Wholesale IT Spending Guide 2008-2013	Apr-Jun 2010
Technology Selection	EU Retail, Enterprise IT Solutions Investments Trends	Apr-Jun 2010
Business Strategy	EMEA Apparel Retail Business Strategies and IT Directions	Apr-Jun 2010
Perspective	EMEA Retail Industry Update: January to March 2010	Apr-Jun 2010
Perspective	EMEA Retail Industry Update: April to June 2010	Jul-Sep 2010
Technology Selection	EU Retail, Industry-Specific Applications Investments Trends	Jul-Sep 2010
Technology Selection	EU Retail, ICT Budget Dynamics	Jul-Sep 2010
Business Strategy	EMEA Grocery Retail Business Strategies and IT Directions	Jul-Sep 2010
Business Strategy	Retailing in "Emerging" EMEA Markets Update	Oct-Dec 2010
Perspective	EMEA Retail Industry Update: July to September 2010	Oct-Dec 2010
Vendor Assessment	Top-15 ICT Vendors in EMEA Retail, 2010	Oct-Dec 2010

Retail IT Infrastructure Strategies
IDC Retail Insight’s Retail IT Infrastructure Strategies service provides market analysis and intelligence on retailer actions toward architectural and platform-oriented technology and process investments.  In the scope of this service includes research surrounding industry-centric capabilities in enterprise retail suites, Software as a Service (SaaS), service-oriented architectures, Outsourced IT services, business intelligence, and managed network services.  Also included is intelligence on best practices surrounding “green” initiatives and consumer data security and privacy through Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliance initiatives.
Document Type	Document Title	Publish Date
Top 10 Predictions	Top 10 Predictions	Oct-Dec 2009
Perspective	Managing Security and Privacy	Oct-Dec 2009
Perspective	Evaluating Managed Services for Networking	Oct-Dec 2009
Perspective	Document Management in Retail	Oct-Dec 2009
Methods and Practices	Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Strategies for Retail	Jan-Mar 2010
Perspective	A Report Card: How Did Your Infrastructure Hold up this Holiday	Jan-Mar 2010
Perspective	Storage Management Strategies in Retail	Jan-Mar 2010
Perspective	Managing Your E-Commerce Platform	Jan-Mar 2010
Vendor Assessment	Top Specialty Vendors in Technology Oriented Value Chains	Apr-Jun 2010
Perspective	Wireless Network Management in Retail	Apr-Jun 2010
Perspective	Should You Outsource IT	Apr-Jun 2010
Perspective	The State of Application Integration in Retail	Apr-Jun 2010
Business Strategy	Retail Industry: 2011 Budget Guide	Jul-Sep 2010
Perspective	Back to School on Digital Signage	Jul-Sep 2010
Perspective	Maintaining Point of Sale Equipment	Jul-Sep 2010
Perspective	Top 5 Most Important IT Standards for Retail	Jul-Sep 2010
Perspective	Application Portfolio Management in Retail	Jul-Sep 2010
Perspective	Do You Have a Data Warehousing Strategy	Jul-Sep 2010
Top 10 Predictions	2011 Top 10 Predictions for Manufacturing	Oct-Dec 2010
Perspective	What's New in Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) for Retail	Oct-Dec 2010

Retail Store, Channel, and Consumer Strategies
To support business and technology decisions that directly impact retail consumers, the IDC Retail Insights’ Retail Store, Channel, and Consumer Strategies service tracks and analyzes important trends in store systems, e-commerce capabilities, and consumer adoption of these technologies.   In the scope of this service are critical technologies such as POS hardware and software, labor management, self-service systems, guided selling, mobile store technologies, advanced consumer payment modes, and e-commerce platforms.  The service provides specific insight into shopper’s reaction and adoption to the new spectrum of consumer selling technologies being deployed in retail.
Document Type	Document Title	Publish Date
Technology Selection	Consumer Privacy and Payment Security in Global Retail	Oct-Dec 2009
Business Strategy	Immersive Shopping Experience � Hot Consumer Applications That Build Valuable Customer Relationships	Oct-Dec 2009
Technology Selection	Will Self-Service Grow in Worldwide Retail?	Oct-Dec 2009
Technology Selection	Telecommunication, Networking and Mobile Solutions Strategies in EMEA Retail Stores	Oct-Dec 2009
Methods and Practices	Retail Store Systems Architecture Trends, Archetypes of POS Buyers and Return on Investment (ROI) Model	Oct-Dec 2009
Business Strategy	Social Shopping Networks: Opportunities, Strategies and Risks for Retailers Globally	Oct-Dec 2009
Business Strategy	Omni Social Retailing Strategies, Anticipating the Future in the Retail World	Oct-Dec 2009
Top 10 Predictions	Global Retail Top 10 Predictions for 2010	Jan-Mar 2010
Perspective	National Retail Federation (NRF) 2010 Review	Jan-Mar 2010
Vendor Assessment	Global Point of Sale (POS) Vendors Review	Jan-Mar 2010
Perspective	Mobile Retail Revolution: From Wireless Associates to Always Connected Consumer Interaction	Jan-Mar 2010
Best Practices	Network Video Analytics for Superior Consumer Experience and Precision Merchandising	Jan-Mar 2010
Technology Selection	The State of Customer Loyalty Applications	Apr-Jun 2010
Perspective	Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) for Consumer-Facing Applications: What's Hot and What's Not	Apr-Jun 2010
Business Strategy	Promotions Management Applications and Digital Signage: Driving Interactivity	Apr-Jun 2010
Business Strategy	The New Unified Communication Retail Paradigm: Service Your Customers Better With Live Rich Omni-Channel Support	Jul-Sep 2010
Technology Selection	The Retailer and Consumer Benefit of Labor Management software	Jul-Sep 2010
Technology Selection	Advanced Retail Network Security and Consumer Data Privacy	Jul-Sep 2010
Best Practices	Advanced Consumer Intelligence In Practice	Oct-Dec 2010
Technology Selection	Self-Service Technology Investment Trends and Adoption Patterns	Oct-Dec 2010
Vendor Assessment	Online Commerce/Multi-Channel Retail Software VendorReview	Oct-Dec 2010
Perspective	Payment Technology Directions: On the Road to Ubiquitous Contactless Payments	Oct-Dec 2010
Perspective	Influencing Consumer Behaviors - 2010 Achievements, 2011 Requirements	Oct-Dec 2010

Retail Supply Chain, Demand Planning, and Merchandising Strategies
IDC Retail Insights’ Retail Supply Chain, Demand Planning, and Merchandising Strategies service examines the impact of technology investments and process initiatives on the performance of enterprise retail systems behind the store.  In the scope of this service are critical IT and process components of the retail supply chain, including global sourcing, product lifecycle management for private label merchandise, logistics systems (warehouse and transportation) as well as RFID,  replenishment and allocation planning. Also reviewed are merchandising capabilities such as assortment planning, category management, pricing and promotion, markdown planning, and perishables management. Specific coverage is given to demand intelligence technology and its role in providing analytics and predictive insight that will drive all elements of retail planning.
Document Type	Document Title	Publish Date
Business Strategy	Retail Investment Strategy: The Convergence of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and Enterprise Application Suite (EAS) for Apparel and Footwear	Oct-Dec 2009
Perspective	Are Private Brand Masters Always Technology Leaders?	Oct-Dec 2009
Perspective	Taking the Complexity Out of Global Trade Management	Oct-Dec 2009
Perspective	National Retail Federation (NRF) Perspective	Jan-Mar 2010
Best Practices	Retail Best Practices in Global Trade Management	Jan-Mar 2010
Perspective	Simplifying "Sustainable" Recall and Returns Management	Jan-Mar 2010
Perspective	Product Information Proliferation: Meeting Customer Product Information Needs	Jan-Mar 2010
Technology Selection	Linking Warehouse Automation to Merchandise and Demand Intelligence	Apr-Jun 2010
Perspective	Reset Retail Supply Chain Technology Priorities	Apr-Jun 2010
Perspective	Higher Customer Satisfaction Tied to Food Traceability	Apr-Jun 2010
Best Practices	Retail Product Life-Cycle Management (PLM) Best Practices by Segment (Apparel & Footwear, Grocery, Drug and Convenience Retailers, Hardlines, Big Box)	Apr-Jun 2010
Perspective	Retail Sustainability: How Invested are Retailers Now?	Jul-Sep 2010
Perspective	Applying Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) Practices to In Store Automation	Jul-Sep 2010
Perspective	Retail - Supplier Collaboration Speeds Product to Market	Jul-Sep 2010
Perspective	Smarter Product Lifecycle Management	Jul-Sep 2010
Business Strategy	Customer Centric Optimization (Demand, Price, Promo, Space)	Oct-Dec 2010
Perspective	Sustainability Opportunities and Successes	Oct-Dec 2010
Perspective	Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Momentum Heading into the Next Decade	Oct-Dec 2010
Perspective	Retail Product Life-Cycle Management (PLM) Configuration Management	Oct-Dec 2010

Worldwide Retail IT Spending Guide
IDC Retail Insights’ Worldwide Retail Industry IT Spending Guide is a semiannual analysis of the current status and projected growth of IT spending in the global retail industry. This global five-year outlook on IT spending by retail companies provides IT vendors with key information needed to develop effective market strategies and provides end users with information that enables them to compare their spending with the rest of the industry. Via this service, IDC Retail Insights offers the benchmark for consistent, detailed market data on the retail industry, providing a profile of IT spending across 27 technologies, 4 geographic regions, 10 retail subindustries, 10 industry lines of business, and 5 company revenue bands.
Document Type	Document Title	Publish Date
Pivot Table	Worldwide Retail Industry IT Spending Guide	Jan-Mar 2010
Pivot Table	Mid year Update	Oct-Dec 2010