Retailers to Increase Automation to Lower Costs, Raise Profitability

Digital technologies are set to transform the retail industry, with businesses investing in technologies to improve operational efficiency, reduce costs and increase profitability, a new report has found.

The report, conducted by Incisiv in collaboration with Verizon Business, also found retailers anticipate a significant increase in automation, with participants predicting up to 70% of tasks will be partially or fully automated by 2025.

"Improving operational efficiency is crucial for retailers in today's competitive landscape," said Gaurav Pant, Incisiv’s chief insights officer. "Automation is imminent, and retailers must embrace it to streamline processes and reduce costs."

Real-time inventory management was the primary investment identified by businesses, responding to ongoing supply chain uncertainty following the pandemic. 

The use of artificial intelligence is also expected to increase ninefold by 2025, while mobile point of sale and curbside pickup sensors will also see a boom. Both technologies will see particular deployment at specialty and department stores.

While the deployment of robotics is still relatively low, the report found it will increase over the next few years, particularly among grocery and general merchandise retailers.

With the increased use of in-store technologies, stores will also have to improve network capabilities to manage higher volumes of traffic.

“As the number of mobile and connected devices continues to accelerate in stores, the need for faster speeds, less network downtime and a better ability to manage peak traffic will become more critical,” said Scott Lawrence, Verizon’s senior vice president of Global Solutions. “The key is to build a network architecture that will give in-store applications access to the right bandwidth at the right time, and enable them to scale up or down as needed.”