Cyber security, Big Data analytics and enterprise cloud are the top three digital technologies currently being utilised within the retail and consumer packaged goods (CPG) industries, according to new research.

The survey of 115 IT decision makers in the retail sector and 109 in the CPG sector, conducted by Vanson Bourne for Infosys, also revealed the industries’ current state of tech investment and predicted future tech trends.

According to the retailers surveyed, the most common trends that will have a positive impact on their organisation over the next three years are aligning marketing, promotion and offer spends using data analytics (52 per cent), using technology to increase customer convenience (50 per cent), and investing in retail workforce management technology and platforms (47 per cent).

However, respondents from the CPG industry cited investments in technologies for automating the manufacturing process (61 per cent), digital asset management (52 per cent), improving supply chain visibility (49 per cent), and deep product personalisation (49 per cent) as their top predicted tech trends.

Eight in ten respondents from the retail industry were currently investing in augmented reality for virtual selling, followed by technologies for point of sale or store experiences (73 per cent), and data analytics to align marketing campaigns with offer programme spending (70 per cent).

Within CPG, 73 per cent of those canvassed were investing in technologies to automate the manufacturing process, 63 per cent in technology for workforce management, and 61 per cent in technologies to automate the back office.

A third of respondents from the retail industry were also planning to invest in smaller stores to create a better customer experience using technology. Mainframe modernisation (81 per cent), the Internet of Things (80 per cent) and ERP and enterprise application implementation/modernisation (79 per cent) were the top three technologies that retailers intended to implement in the near future to improve existing business operations.

For the CPG sector, ERP and enterprise application implementation/modernisation (74 per cent), 3D printing (69 per cent), and enterprise cloud (63 per cent) topped the list.

Respondents from both retail and CPG also considered the improvement of existing skills “a must” to implement the top digital trends.

Share Story: