IDC Retail Insights: Top 10 predictions for 2016

IDC Retail Insights lays out a blueprint for the future of retail technology in its “IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Retail 2016 Predictions.”



"Retailers are transforming from a business strategy, process, and technology perspective. Executing well requires a systemic change in the way they relate to customers and to their own employees and partners,” said Leslie Hand, VP, IDC Retail Insights, and a co-author of the report.





Here are IDC’s top 10 predictions for 2016:



1. By 2016, 75% of born-digital retailers do not even consider omnichannel commerce platforms that aren’t cloud-based and fundamentally mobile.



2. By 2018, recommendation engines and forecasting will converge on personalization and machine learning, creating a foundation for collaboration among merchandising and digital marketing



3. By 2017, 85% of customers expect one click-away commerce and fulfillment from all retailers — and those retailers will beat peer revenue growth by 200 base points.



4. By 2017, 90% of the top 100 global retailers will have enabled multifactor payment authorization in-store, with NFC finer prints and contactless payments playing a major role.



5. By 2017, digitized “brick-and-mortar” stores will provide retailers with new sources of data to convert 50% of shoppers from casual to loyal purchases through digital experiences.



6. By 2016, 40% of the top 100 global retailers will encrypt all customer data in flight and at rest, declaring "Trusted Data certification," with a 25% gain in competitive wallet share.



7. By 2017, fully integrated omnicommerce platforms get selected two times more than platforms that require "custom" integration between store, online, and mobile commerce capabilities



8. By 2018, operationalizing omnichannel will require omnichannel commerce, IoT and social convergence, and retail laggards will close ten times more stores than peers to stay in business.



9. By 2017, the next wave of omnichannel retailers invest in fulfillment "your" way, driving dozens of retailers to make new supply chain analytics, planning and execution investments.



10. In 2016, 10 large retailers will complete inside-out assortment planning with outside-in experts to exploit gaps in competitors' assortments and maximize price and profitability



To access an audio replay of a Web presentation on the predictions, click here.