Newsletters Advisory Services IDC Retail Insights Portfolio
These programs provide strategic analysis and direction of the foundational business and technology components of the retail value chain. This research focuses on aligning enterprise and infrastructure-related technologies to business objectives – increasing the level of confidence among retailers that they will maximize profits and brand value, while also giving industry vendors clarity on where to direct product development investment.
Merchandising and Marketing Strategies and Retail Analytics
IDC Retail Insights' Merchandising and Marketing Strategies and Retail Analytics service provides an authoritative perspective on how retailers should use information technologies to achieve key operational, tactical, and strategic objectives in the buying, planning, assortment, allocation, replenishment, and pricing of merchandise. Our analysis focuses on differentiation, localization, customer centricity, and revenue optimization as well as emerging areas; for example, collective intelligence, omnichannel promotions, and location intelligence. We cover critical topical issues such as, lean inventory investment, with fact-based, retailer-driven research and analysis. Our research helps the vendor community align their products and services to evolving industry needs and shorten their time to market with innovative applications.
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.
Through an integrated set of deliverables, subscribers receive the latest intelligence on retail IT infrastructure trends, enabling them to make better-informed IT decisions that enable much more flexible retail business processes.
Retail Supply Chain, Sourcing, and Product Lifecycle Management Strategies
Retailers around the world now realize that sustainable competitive advantage will be gained only by those companies that integrate a deep understanding of consumer demand directly into their supply chain planning workflows. Making the business case for continued retail enterprise technology and process improvements is essential if merchants are to stay ahead of changing consumer shopping habits and increasing merchandise choices. IDC Retail Insights' Retail Supply Chain, Sourcing, and Product Lifecycle Management Strategies service examines the impact of technology investments and process initiatives on the performance of enterprise retail systems behind the store. Specific coverage is given to the drivers, benefits, processes and applications related to a visible, efficient and intelligent supply chain.
This service will deliver fact-based research and analysis to help retailers justify, select, and implement consumer selling technologies that create both profitable operations and a competitive advantage.
Retail Store, Channel, and Consumer Strategies
Success or failure in retail – regardless of merchant type or size – will be driven by an effective and profitable consumer experience. Whether in a
traditional store environment or online, consumers want merchandise and employees to be available, product information to be accurate, and a quick and easy checkout
process. As systems inside the store expand beyond traditional Point of Sale (POS), understanding the impact these new store systems have on consumers is also
critical.
To support business and technology decisions that directly impact retail consumers, the 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.
This subscription-based research advisory service provides clients with timely, cost-effective customer and market research, informative case studies, intelligence on best practices, and data on adoption trends for technologies, products, and services that impact the retail stores and channels.
The changing competitive market for retailers is driving new, innovative investments while at the same time requiring continual service improvement through increased centralization and standardization. With merchant priorities changing, clearer understanding of retail IT investments will intensify. Our quantitative research approach and detailed results will empower industry IT suppliers with improved confidence in specific decision management processes and will help support competitive product development and market execution strategies.
Specific programs include:
Asia/Pacific Retail IT Strategies
IDC Retail Insights' Asia/Pacific Retail IT Strategies service provides insights into the Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) distribution sector, with a specific focus on retail and wholesale markets and information 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.
Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa Focusing the Future: Retail
The Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa Focusing the Future: Retail research advisory service keeps retail professionals informed on how retailers in CEE and MEA are deploying ICT solutions, laying out ICT spending priorities, and planning adoptions that increase competitiveness. Using case studies, surveys, and supply-side research, it dives into technologies such as the retail supply chain, merchandising, and demand planning; store operations; the emerging omnichannel customer experiences; and business performance management. The regional and country-level analysis also highlights how paradigm-shifting technology trends (mobility, cloud, and big data) are being interpreted and incorporated by CEE and MEA retailers and their suppliers.
European Retail IT Strategies
The European Retail IT Strategies advisory service provides insights into the EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) retail industry, with a specific focus on retail markets and information and communication technology (ICT) strategies applied to improve retail supply chain, merchandising, and demand planning; store operations; and omnichannel customer experiences, as well as overall business performance management. Our analysis includes regional and country-level estimates on ICT spending in the sector based on primary end-user research, competitive assessments of ICT vendors targeting retail, retail subsegment-specific trends, and continuous monitoring of the market aimed at identifying key industry business trends and ICT investment trends.
Media and Entertainment Solutions Market Share Guide
IDC Retail Insights' Media and Entertainment Solutions Market Share Guide examines solution-specific vendor revenue for the top worldwide media and entertainment vendors. Solutions covered are digital content management, advertising sales and analytics, broadcasting automation, content delivery and digital distribution, and media intellectual property management. Unlike products that examine horizontal vendor revenue from either a hardware or a software or services perspective, this guide examines industry-specific vendor revenue at the solution level and provides a holistic view of the top vendors in this industry. This product can be used by strategic planners, market analysts, and others seeking to understand the market leaders and the opportunities by solution and industry.
Retail Solutions Market Share Guide
IDC Retail Insights' Retail Solutions Market Share Guide examines solution-specific vendor revenue for the top worldwide retail vendors. Solutions covered are retail revenue management, mobile commerce platforms, ecommerce platforms, location-based mobile marketing execution, and applied digital asset management (ADAM). Unlike products that examine horizontal vendor revenue from either the hardware, software, or services perspective, this guide examines industry-specific vendor revenue at the solution level and provides a holistic view of the top vendors in the retail industry. This product can be used by strategic planners, market analysts, and others seeking to understand the market leaders and the opportunities by solution and industry.
Worldwide Quarterly Point of Sale Tracker
IDC Retail Insights' Worldwide Quarterly Point of Sale Tracker fills the growing demand for detailed, timely, and accurate information on the global point-of-sale (POS) market. It provides detailed quantitative analysis, quarterly market share data, and a five-year forecast with geographic, customer, and technology segmentation. The core output of this research is in the form of quantitative analysis delivered in a detailed Excel workbook. This tracker provides total market size and vendor share, and measurement for this research is in unit shipments and factory value.
Worldwide Retail IT Spending Guide
The 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.
Worldwide Retail Supply Chain and PLM Spending Guide
The Worldwide Retail Supply Chain and PLM Spending Guide provides a comprehensive multi-year view of these relevant application markets across retail segments. Technology providers use the guide to identify the region and industry segments that represent the greatest potential for growth so that their product development and marketing spending can be more productive. Technology buyers are able to compare their individual spending plans with industry level budget allocations to identify possible areas of over or under investment.
