IDC FutureScape Figure

Figure: IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Retail 2020 Top 10 Predictions

Executive Summary

IDC FutureScape Predictions

Summary of External Drivers

Predictions: Impact on Technology Buyers

Prediction 1: By 2022, 20% of Retailers Will Embrace a Complete Cultural Shift Where Leadership Champions Disruptive Innovation, Driving Investment That Launches the Next Stage of Growth, While 80% See Deceleration

Associated Drivers

IT Impact

Guidance

Prediction 2: By 2025, 25% of the Retail Companies with an IDC Digital Index of Less than 100 in 2020 Will Close All Stores

Associated Drivers

IT Impact

Guidance

Prediction 3: By 2024, 60% of Retailers Will Implement AI-Enabled Software Solutions; However, Only 20% of Those Will Unlock True Differentiation-Focused Use Cases, Broadening the Gap in the New Intelligence Divide

Associated Drivers

IT Impact

Guidance

Prediction 4: By 2022, 35% of Retailers Will Have Announced Partnerships or Mash-Ups That Cross Shifting Retail Ecosystems to Offer New Services That Converge the In-Store and Online Customer Experiences

Associated Drivers

IT Impact

Guidance

Prediction 5: By 2023, 65% of Top Global 250 Retailers Will Have a Digital Workforce Lifelong Learning Strategy in Place, Enabling up to 20% Increase in Employee Retention

Associated Drivers

IT Impact

Guidance

Prediction 6: By 2024, Empathy Among Brands and for Customers Will Drive Organizations to Adopt Shared Process Intelligence Across the Ecosystem That Drives 20% Collective Growth in Customer Lifetime Value

Associated Drivers

IT Impact

Guidance

Prediction 7: By 2021, More than 50% of Retailers, Globally, Will Have Launched at Least One Co-Innovation Program, Enabling 15% of Retailers to Sell Their Own Tech IP as an Asset

Associated Drivers

IT Impact

Guidance

Prediction 8: By 2021, 60% of Major Retailers Will Use Consent-Based Approach to Maximize the Value of Contextualized Customer Journey Personalization and Automated Conversations, Increasing Loyalty up to Four Times

Associated Drivers

IT Impact

Guidance

Prediction 9: By 2021, 80% of Retailers Will Have Implemented a Retail Commerce Platform, with 35% of Them Achieving More than 10% Improvement in Customer Experience Metrics, Such as CSAT and NPS

Associated Drivers

IT Impact

Guidance

Prediction 10: By 2023, the 50% of Retailers That Have Linked Self-Service Technology Strategy to DX Will See a 35% Increase in Net Margin, 10% Increase in Customer Loyalty, and 5% Decrease in Staff Turnover

Associated Drivers

IT Impact

Guidance

Advice for Technology Buyers

External Drivers: Detail

Accelerated Disruption: Navigating Business Challenges as Volatility Intensifies

The Platform Economy: Competing at Hyperscale

Sense, Compute, Act: Maximizing Data Value

Crisis of Digital Trust: Escalating Threats Mandate Strategic Responses

Rising Customer Expectations: More Convenience, Customization, and Control

The Future of Work: Agile, Augmented, Borderless, and Reconfigurable

Economies of Intelligence: AI, Human, and Organizational "Learning" Fuels Asymmetrical Advantage

Learn More

Related Research