Retail IT directors will need to improve e-commerce
sites and in-store technology to support changes in consumers'
buying habits, analyst firm Gartner has predicted.
Gartner managing vice-president John Davison said, "By 2011, 16%
of
turnover will be from the internet. This will be the single
biggest shift in retail marketing."
IT will need to build and support the infrastructure for greater
web use and tracking customers across multiple channels, Davison
said. "Consumers in store will search across the web to get the
best price, then look at the latest blogs on the products they wish
to buy," he said.
By 2017, Davison said stores would need to provide internet
kiosks and self-service tills to support the Web 2.0 approach to
shopping.
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