Here’s where top-performing large retailers make tech investments

A new survey reveals the technology investment priorities of some of the most successful U.S. retailers. 

A Coveo-RSR Research survey of 92 U.S.-based retailers — most with revenues above $250 million and some reporting revenue growth above the average of 7% —  reveals how retail “winners” (those with above average revenue growth) differ from other retailers. According to the data, between 2022 and 2023, at least 50% or more surveyed winners said they increased investments in their CRM systems (59%), e-commerce platforms (55%), payment processing and inventory management (52%) and artificial intelligence (AI) and personalization (50%) initiatives.  

Comparatively, only 15% of surveyed underperformers said they were planning to invest more in their e-commerce platform, and only 35% of underperforming respondents plan on investing more in AI-powered search, recommendations and personalization.

Winners focus on personalization

Surveyed winners also showed higher interest than other respondents in providing various customer personalization features:

• 59% aggressively publicize their loyalty platform to personalize the shopper experience with highly relevant offers based on preferences, purchase history, and behavioral models, compared to 35% of other respondents.
• 55% use in-session behavioral data to make real-time personalized offers, compared to 32% of other respondents.
• 47% make value offers at checkout when shoppers identify themselves as loyalty program members, compared to 41% of other respondents.

Generative AI is growing  

Surveyed winners are more likely to have interest in generative AI, as 93% of these respondents plan to use or are using it. Based on machine learning (ML), generative AI can create new content and ideas, including conversations, stories, images, videos, and music:

• 59% of winners already have (or will have) implemented some kind of generative AI technology in their contact center for the holiday season.
• 34% of winners say they’re experimenting with generative AI capabilities in preparation for possible adoption in the new year.
• Underperformers are more likely to be late adopters, with 24% saying they’ll add generative AI to their agenda in 2024 compared to 5% of winners. 
• Inspiration: Giving shoppers new project ideas that align with their interests at every stage of their journey, such as décor ideas or new recipes.
• 42% of all surveyed retailers are aggressively pushing customers toward online service chatbots and FAQ pages to help manage call volume.

Rackspace: retailers will make tech investments in 2024

A recent retailer survey released exclusively to Chain Store Age by Rackspace Technology indicates 58% of respondents plan to increase investment in IT over the next 12 months. Close to two-thirds (63%) of respondents said pervasive artificial intelligence (AI) would have the highest positive impact on the business/market environment, while 50% named AI as the most important technology.