What's happening in the retail industry today? Change—lots of it—as retailers increase investments in IT, rev up in-store systems with innovative capabilities, and move toward solutions that instill efficiency through collaboration and multichanneling.

To gauge the current retailing climate, PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Retail Tech Magazine for Retail Executives conducted its fourth annual survey, "The State of Retail Technology 2001." This survey, which ran from December 2000 to January 2001, included respondents from department, discount, apparel, and other specialty stores; home improvement centers; convenience stores; and supermarkets. Two out of five survey respondents came from companies with annual sales exceeding 1.5 billion.

Retailers Increase IT/In-Store System Investments
Bucking a trend of under-investing in IT, retailers expect to increase their IT spending by about 10 percent next year. Not only are retailers investing more, but they appear to have a better grasp of the strategic value of IT to business performance. Survey findings reveal that retailing CIOs spend one third of their time on Information Systems and the business strategies to ensure that IT investments align with, support, and drive shareholder value.

Today's retailers are increasing investments in their in-store systems to promote customer traffic and sales, enhance the shopping experience, and improve operational efficiency and back office productivity. One approach is to replace proprietary software and hardware with the more open and flexible thin client server architectures. Another hot trend is to deploy in-store wireless mobile devices for point-of-service and other store applications. Newly emerging technologies—Web-enabled kiosks, radio frequency and mobile devices such as cell phones, and Personal Directory Assistants (PDAs)—are quickly expanding the retailing frontier.

Collaboration and Multichanneling are Key
To meet supply chain and logistics requirements, more than half of the CIOs surveyed favor third-party best-of-breed software or exchange-based solutions for key supply chain functions including collaborative planning, forecasting, and replenishment (CPFR). In addition, 63 percent of retailers expect to upgrade their sites and systems to attain tight multichannel systems integration within two years.

Why Avaya and the Retail Industry?
Avaya is prepared to help meet the changing needs of businesses in the retail industry.

Avaya can help you make the most of your existing communications network by giving you cost-saving efficiency and competitive savvy.
Avaya is at the forefront of the industry, overcoming the challenges of today's customer economy and delivering customer-centric services and proven multichannel solutions for leading retailers worldwide.
Avaya brings you the best in next-generation communications technology backed by an impressive array of services and support to meet your needs for Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Converged Voice and Data Networks, and Unified Communication solutions.
Take A Look!
Learn more about how Avaya is helping retailers just like you reshape their future and redefine customer service for a changing world.

The Industry in Perspective: Discover how the needs of today's customer economy affect the way retailers are doing business right now.

Retail Industry Solutions: Examine the current challenges facing the retail industry and explore Avaya's innovative solutions, designed to leverage your current operational capabilities, deliver seamless multichanneling, and provide services and experiences that exceed your customers' expectations.

Solutions in Action: Check out what leading retail customers around the country have to say about Avaya's market-leading solutions.

Learn More: Browse our online portfolio for a wealth of resources designed specifically for the retail industry.

PricewaterhouseCoopers, RETAILTECH Magazine. (2001). The State of Retail Technology 2001