Technology

Loss prevention driving retail store tech investment

Photo: Adobe Stock

January 10, 2024

Retailers are focused on omnichannel efficiency and also wrestling with loss prevention and both are driving store tech investments.

Retail leaders are also hunting for innovative technologies to address labor shortages.

Those are findings from the "2024 Connected Retail Experience Study: Focusing on Ominichannel Efficiency" from Incisiv. The study was done in collaboration with Verizon, according to a press release.

Key findings include:

• Store efficiency, the number one driver of retail business strategy, enhances customer satisfaction and profit margins. However, only 36% of grocery and general merchandise retailers express satisfaction with their current technology infrastructure.
• 92% of retailers say improving loss prevention is an important driver of their store technology strategy, up from 52% just a year ago. Almost all (98%) of business executives and 85% of IT executives cite loss prevention as the most important outcome for investments in store systems.
• 11% of retailers meet the digital experience expectations of their Gen Z store associates. Just 26% of grocery and general merchandise retailers are pleased with the technological tools available to their staff.
• 14% of retailers have a common understanding of AI across the organization. Although retailers estimate 72% of store tasks can be fully or partially automated, only 33% have been automated to date.

"This shift is not just about technology implementation; it's about shaping a new retail paradigm," Gaurav Pant, chief insights officer at Incisiv, said in the release. "Bridging the omnichannel gap is not just a matter of competitive advantage but a necessity for survival, and adopting new technologies like automation is the frontier for differentiation. The disparity in digital experience for store associates, especially among Gen Z, is more than just a technological shortfall; it's a wake-up call. Retailers must accelerate their digital initiatives to empower their workforce."

"As retailers tackle loss prevention and real-time inventory tracking through the deployment of AI-powered live video analysis demanding more bandwidth and speed, their networks will be stressed like never before," James Hughes, retail CTO, Verizon Business, said in the release. "Retailers continue to venture on their digital transformation journeys and it is imperative to bring together disconnected systems to create powerful, modular and intelligent solutions that can enable new functionalities, smarter insights and faster decision-making."