New report: How tech solves the productivity problem

As part of a new Retail Week report produced in association with Intel, we surveyed 70 senior retail directors spanning both ecommerce and bricks-and-mortar stores.

You can download the report for free here.

“It is within the area of ecommerce and data analytics that technology can help the most to boost productivity”

This research reveals that two thirds of retailers are in agreement that the sector has a productivity problem.

However, there are encouraging signs that the issue is beginning to receive the proper attention it deserves.

Of those surveyed, 56% said the issue of productivity has moved up the boardroom agenda in the past decade, with 37% saying it had stayed the same and only 7% saying it had gone down.

Productivity is increasingly being seen as the most significant economic challenge of our time.

Not only are inflationary and currency pressures impacting the cost base of businesses, but the speed of technological progress means traditional models are being disrupted in ways arguably not seen since the Industrial Revolution.

In few sectors is this more true than retail where technology is unlocking new sales opportunities by changing where, when and how shoppers interact with a brand.

Rising to the challenge

Many retailers are rising to the challenge of innovating to boost productivity.

For the majority of respondents (64%), it is within the area of ecommerce and data analytics that technology can help the most to drive efficiency gains and boost productivity.

For 44% of the surveyed respondents, new investment in technology is being made with the specific aim of driving improvements in productivity, while for a further 50%, this is at least a part of the rationale.