[Forrester Report] The Top Retail Technology Investments in 2019

Forrester interviewed more than 40 industry professionals to understand the areas of retail initiatives they are investing in this year.

This report gives digital business professionals insights into which technologies retailers are investing in and to what extent.

Retailers innovate with initiatives that have proven customer value: Omnichannel commerce leads the way in this year’s retail tech investments. It’s often part of other top priorities, including advanced data and analytics, personalization and digital store tech. Artificial intelligence and progressive web apps also moved up into this year’s top priority list.

Some newer technologies are on hold until business cases are better understood: Technologies such as automated checkout, augmented and virtual reality, smart speaker apps, internet of things, robotics, and blockchain still need to mature and prove their value before retailers apply them to customer-facing scenarios.

Niche use cases make for niche adoption of technologies still stuck in pilot mode: Technologies that improve a retailer’s or brand’s specific customer need — such as same-day delivery, social commerce, experience centers, chatbots, subscription services, and new marketplaces — seem destined to address special situations rather than find broad market adoption in the coming year.

Read the Forrester Report now.