Trends 2006: Retail IT

Overview

The retail IT spending outlook is positive: Retailers have finally figured out how to compete with Wal-Mart and are now organizing themselves to deliver differentiation. Many retailers have tackled aging POS platforms, with most initiating a POS upgrade or replacement in 2004 and/or 2005. So where will 2006 take us? Two places: Experience-based differentiation — whether an explicit strategy or a reactive move to be more customer service-oriented — will drive technology activity beyond the store; and service-oriented architecture will break down application boundaries, putting infrastructure questions — and investments — back on the road map. Is the retail IT renaissance finally here? It might be just around the corner — but only if sales stay up, IT finally learns how to talk to the business, and the business finally learns that architecture investments pay off in the end.