US-based Zebra Technologies’ “Retail Vision Study” has reported that the majority of retailers surveyed globally expect to simplify, enliven, and customize the shopping experience by embracing radio frequency identification and other Internet of Things (IoT) technologies. The retailers are also shifting towards using analytic data from those technologies by 2021 as more shoppers move to online sales.
70 per cent of retailers surveyed said, according to the report, they are already providing item-level RFID technology to better manage inventory, or plan to do so and 65 per cent plan to invest in automation technologies for inventory management and planogram compliance by 2021. These IoT investments aim to connect people, processes and things to keep customers happy, enhance supply chain visibility and expand revenue opportunities.
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The survey was conducted by Zebra’s market research partners, Research Now and Qualtrics. It consisted of online interviews of 1,700 retail decision makers across the apparel, department store, specialty store, supermarket, electronics, home improvement and drug store sectors.
Ravi Kanniganti, Zebra Technologies’ Retail Vertical Market Strategy Director, explained, “The results of the survey were encouraging for Zebra and other technology providers, since they identify how dedicated retailers are to using technology to meet consumers’ changing demands,” adding, “We know the retail market is going through fundamental strategy changes. The focus for technology providers should now be on ensuring that technology matches retailers’ real-world use cases.”
