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.
Retail Supply Chain, Demand Planning, and Merchandising 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 merchandising and 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.
The 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.
This subscription-based research and advisory program provides clients with in-depth analysis and actionable advice, detailing best practices for process and technology optimization, and identifying relevant key indicators.
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.
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.
This program is a comprehensive package of advisory services for retailers seeking a broad range of knowledge.
Global Strategic Retailing
This program is a comprehensive product package for retailers that provides relevant and timely market research on retail industry activity and technology usage
from beginning to end – from the supply chain through the consumer shopping experience – across geographies. The program includes three Global Retail
Insights' research advisory services that study critical aspects of the retail technology model, and enable retail executives across business disciplines to maximize
the effectiveness of their technology strategies and implementation initiatives.
The Retail IT Infrastructure Strategies service provides market analysis and intelligence on retailer actions toward architectural and platform-oriented technology and process investments. The Retail Store, Channel, and Consumer Strategies service tracks and analyzes important trends in store systems, ecommerce capabilities, and consumer adoption of these technologies, as well as understanding the impact store systems have on the consumer shopping experience. The 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. 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.
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:
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.
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.
