Business

Digimarc and Planet Retail have announced key findings in a new retail report, highlighting that retailers are applying new technologies and innovations that streamline the supply chain, create new efficiencies and improve the customer experience. The data shows that retailers are modernizing their operations to reclaim a role in the omni-channel conversation, and to better engage with today’s evolving shoppers. Executives indicated they are not only retiring obsolete systems, but also investing in powerful technologies to give consumers more choice, control and a better overall shopping experience.

“The results of the new Planet Retail survey add credence to our belief that new technologies play a critical and growing role in improving customer engagement, store efficiency, and supply chain effectiveness,” said Heidi Dethloff, vice president for marketing, Digimarc. “The imperceptible Digimarc Barcode is a key piece of this new retail technology landscape, enabling the connected package through a persistent network identity giving retailers and brands greater insights and business benefits across the package journey.”

Retailers identified improving customer experiences in-store as a top priority for 2017. Checkout was top-of-mind, with nearly two-thirds of retail respondents believing a fast checkout experience, whether self-checkout or attended checkout, is essential for promoting customer loyalty. Barcode solutions ranked second when it came to IT investment, behind customer and supplier relationship management solutions.

“Ninety percent of all sales are still completed in a physical store,” said Miya Knights, global retail technology director, Planet Retail. “As a showroom, fulfillment hub and center for service excellence, the physical store still reigns supreme when it comes to delivering truly instant retail therapy. The fact that the in-store customer experience topped our poll suggests retailers are starting to capitalize on this. The report also outlines the concerns retailers have and their priorities for engaging in digital transformation and omni-channel marketing.”

Planet Retail conducted the survey in late 2016 to better understand the evolving needs of retailers and their perceptions of the role of technology in satisfying those needs. The results reflect more than 350 responses gathered from senior decision-makers across the US, UK, Germany and Japan.