IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Retail 2024 Predictions

This IDC study provides IDC's top 10 predictions for the retail industry in 2024.Leslie Hand, group vice president, IDC Retail and Financial Insights, emphasized, "Retailers are not investing in small step changes to their portfolios - they are digitally transforming and investing in the massive scale and speed of digital, cloud-based, connected, AI-driven, and sensor-driven automation. We are in the middle of a customer-led, technology-enabled revolution in retail."

IDC FutureScape Figure

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

Learn More

• Related Research