Grocers to Spend $9.8 Billion on IT in 2006: Study
FRANKLIN, Tenn. - Supermarkets continue to boost their IT spending, and will pay $9.8 billion to refresh their systems this year, according to a new report from retail technology research firm IHL Consulting Group.
"While self-checkout and new hardware systems are big parts of the plan, software and external services are driving most of the IT spend growth," said Greg Buzek, president of IHL. "With Wal-Mart now selling more than 30 percent of all groceries in North America, other retailers in the category continue to invest to keep up and help differentiate themselves."
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Released today, the 122-page report, "IT and the North American Supermarket," reveals how technology can be used to meet the challenges currently facing grocers.
Some of the report's findings include:
- Grocers are planning to upgrade to self-checkout before replacing aging point-of-sale hardware. Once self-checkout is installed, POS hardware and software are their next big purchases in most cases.
- Key areas of software spend include store systems (21 percent), infrastructure (32 percent), and supply chain management systems (18 percent).
- Fifty-four percent are planning new workforce management solutions in the next year and over 60 percent are planning new kiosk implementations at the store level by June 2006.
The report also includes detailed technical overviews of the top 20 retailers, which include estimated IT spend, key personnel, retailer competitive comparisons, and specific hardware, software, and services technologies for commerce, data warehouse, distribution and supply chain, financial, head office, knowledge management, sales/service, and store automation.
For the full report, visit www.ihlservices.com.
"While self-checkout and new hardware systems are big parts of the plan, software and external services are driving most of the IT spend growth," said Greg Buzek, president of IHL. "With Wal-Mart now selling more than 30 percent of all groceries in North America, other retailers in the category continue to invest to keep up and help differentiate themselves."
(Story continues below.)
Released today, the 122-page report, "IT and the North American Supermarket," reveals how technology can be used to meet the challenges currently facing grocers.
Some of the report's findings include:
- Grocers are planning to upgrade to self-checkout before replacing aging point-of-sale hardware. Once self-checkout is installed, POS hardware and software are their next big purchases in most cases.
- Key areas of software spend include store systems (21 percent), infrastructure (32 percent), and supply chain management systems (18 percent).
- Fifty-four percent are planning new workforce management solutions in the next year and over 60 percent are planning new kiosk implementations at the store level by June 2006.
The report also includes detailed technical overviews of the top 20 retailers, which include estimated IT spend, key personnel, retailer competitive comparisons, and specific hardware, software, and services technologies for commerce, data warehouse, distribution and supply chain, financial, head office, knowledge management, sales/service, and store automation.
For the full report, visit www.ihlservices.com.