IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Retail 2024 Predictions

IDC FutureScape Figure

• Figure: IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Retail 2024 Top 10 Predictions

Executive Summary

IDC FutureScape Predictions

• Summary of External Drivers

• Predictions: Impact on Technology Buyers

• Prediction 1: Through 2027, 95% of Retailers Will Test/Invest in GenAI to Enhance Product Data, Customer Support, and Customer Experience Initiatives

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 2: By 2025, 40% of Top-Tier Retailers Will Lean into Decentralized Infrastructure to Put Data at the Edge to Reduce Costs and Attain Better Security and Operational Control

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 3: By 2025, 75% of Retailers Will Enable Clienteling, Inventory/Fulfillment Processes, Queue Busting, Mobile POS, and Employee Self-Service by Deploying Mobile Devices, Wearables, and BYOD Programs

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 4: By 2028, 50% of Retailers Will Offer AI-Enabled Contextualized Recommendations to Enhance Customer Engagement, Increasing Real-Time Interactions by 30% and Overall Conversion Rate by 20%

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 5: By 2028, 55% of Grocery Supply Chains Will Deploy Intelligent IoT to Track the Condition of Perishables, Reducing Food Waste by 25% and Inventories by 15% and Improving Quality by 40%

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 6: By 2024, 40% of Retailers Will Adopt a Multilevel Loyalty Strategy, Leveraging a Unified View of the Customer, to Increase Retention Rate by 20% and Net Promoter Score by 35%

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 7: By 2025, 50% of Retailers Will Boost Next-Gen Security Technology Spending by 20%+ to Address Key Pain Points Including Revenue Loss from Fraud/Theft and More Sophisticated Cyberattacks

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 8: By 2027, Over 65% of Retailers Will Use AI to Provide Contextual Ad Targeting to Power Next-Gen Retail Media Networks to Monetize Zero-Party and First-Party Data Business Models

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 9: By 2027, 40% of Retailers Will Move to Product Experience Management SaaS Platforms for Consistency in Product Experience, Boosting Customer Satisfaction Score by 20%

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 10: By 2026, One-Third of Retailers Will Use Computer Vision to Make Self-Checkout 75% Less Riddled by Shrink and BOPIS and Curbside Service 25% Less Time Consuming

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Guidance

Advice for Technology Buyers

External Drivers: Detail

• AI Everywhere — Generative AI Takes the Spotlight

• The Drive to Automate — Maximizing Efficiency and New Opportunities

• Global Supply Chain Resiliency — Push for Diversification

• Cybersecurity and Risk — Building Resilience Against Multiplying Threats

• The Digital Business Imperative — Competitiveness and Outcomes

• Everything as a Service Intensifies — Transforming Models to Drive Change

• Dynamic Work and Skills Requirements — New Work Mode Era

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• Related Research