Retailers are accelerating investments in store intelligence technology at record levels, yet operational inefficiencies continue to rise, costing 6.4% of gross sales annually, up from 5.5% in 2025 and 4.5% in 2024, which total $196.4 billion across key retail sectors, according to Coresight Research’s annual The State of In-Store Retailing 2026 study.
“Store technology decisions this year will shape competitive positions for decades,” says Deborah Weinswig, CEO and founder of Coresight Research. “Our data shows that prioritization determines return. Retailers that deploy shelf digitization technology first build a compounding competitive advantage that is difficult to replicate.”
Key takeaways:
· 97% have deployed or plan to deploy store intelligence technology within the next year. Yet inefficiencies now cost retailers a growing share of gross sales. The research shows that technology sequencing—not investment alone—is what separates value creation from value erosion.
● 60% of retailers have already scaled or are actively scaling store intelligence technologies, up 18% year over year. Yet in-store inefficiencies cost retailers 6.4% of gross sales annually, up from 5.5% in 2025 and 4.5% in 2024, totaling $196.4 billion across key U.S. retail sectors.
● Only 33% of retailers are investing in shelf digitization. Many prioritize pricing and supplier systems over shelf digitization, despite those systems’ reliance on shelf-level data to perform. Not having established the shelf digitization foundation limits return.
● 86% of retailers report reduced time on manual tasks since introducing store intelligence technology, with an average 14% decrease reallocated toward higher-value work, such as merchandising and product expertise, translating to enhanced customer experience.
