Coresight Research recently conducted a survey of over 400 key decision-makers at global retailers in North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand to gain insights into how retailers are using digital technologies in reaction to the impact current economic conditions are having on the retail sector.
In particular, the survey focused on how digital technologies such as financial planning software, workforce management tools, and artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) applications can address the pressing issues of cost control and margin optimization. The report, Navigating Digital Transformation: Optimizing Retail Operations Amid Margin Pressure, examines how macroeconomic factors are creating challenges for retailers and why the current economic landscape requires digital transformation, including the impact of job markets and inflation. The report also addresses how these issues and others, such as heightened shopper expectations, are making cost and margin management increasingly complex.
Key Takeaways:
Some of the top areas of investment include financial planning software, financial management/accounting software, AI/ML (including generative AI), data analytics software, and more. Interestingly, the survey found that, of all advanced technologies, retailers are increasingly recognizing the value of AI/ML technologies, including GenAI (generative AI), with 27% of respondents identifying it as the advanced technology that is best suited to help them proactively identify unexpected costs.
- The survey includes:
- Proprietary survey data on costs that retail businesses found most difficult to control and the unexpected costs they encountered over the past 12 months
- Survey data on the challenges retail companies faced when making their operations adaptive to a fast-changing environment and when managing staff in times of fluctuating demand
- Survey data on the technology solutions retail companies are using to manage their costs and margins and the effectiveness of those solutions
