How Retail is Starting to Need IT

Of all industries, retail has probably escaped the dependence on technology that many others have developed over the years for the longest span of time. However, it has become clear that there are many ways that IT solutions can assist the retail sector that just weren’t present in the past. However, this shift is proving challenging for many of this industry’s leaders.

The environment within retail has seen a considerable shift in the last few years in its adoption of technology, yet there is still a lack of engagement from many leaders. This is somewhat ironic, as these leaders depend on the customer’s experience, which is more and more influenced by the technology that is leveraged. In many ways, retail is one of most dependent industries on technology today, with consumers demanding their experience to be greatly personalized, available to them in an instant through mobile apps and other e-commerce solutions.

The primary issue is the fact that many business owners take a step back from their technology, appreciating what it does with no appreciation for how it does it. As a result, IT has to approach business owners, especially those in retail, from a perspective that looks more and more at the macro effects and immediate budgetary impacts while overlooking the long-term benefits of adopting certain solutions. As technology has increasingly had to be passed through a business-focused lense, it has been described in increasingly standardized terms.

This wouldn’t normally be an issue, except that these terms have gradually eliminated any differentiation between solutions - and this has impacted the businesses making these decisions, especially those in the retail vertical. Looking at some of the biggest data breaches in recent years, we see names like Target, TJX Companies, Inc.(the company that powers Marshall’s, TJ Maxx, and Homegoods), and Home Depot. Each of these companies were victimized through their point-of-sale systems, each enabled by less-than-sufficient security solutions in place.

Unfortunately, this can be explained by the simple business principle of cutting costs wherever possible, or simply not putting enough resources into managing technology.

While there is no guarantee that sufficient IT services would have mitigated these events (or the many others that have struck in recent memory, or that haven’t been large enough to garner attention) there are so many examples of how businesses, including retail shops, could have benefitted from sufficient IT support and security.

With any luck, industry leaders will begin to pay attention to their technology and how it can really benefit them. At any rate, when they do, we’ll be here - ready to offer our services for the benefit of these businesses and their customers.

Interested in learning more about how our solutions can assist your business operations? Reach out to us! Call (703) 743-3056 today.