“We have never seen an economy like this…”.  This has become the most repeated sentiment among retailers since the results from the most recent holiday season came in.  The culture of low expectations is officially pervasive.  In spite of the uncertainty and resultant tentative nature of technology planning many retailers have begun, there exists a set of core principles that are now guiding the leading retailers.  These retailers have looked upon the latest deceleration in consumer spending as an opportunity to grow market share and begin to position their infrastructure footprints for the inevitable return of consumer demand.      

In my view, real leaders in the retail industry are focused on the following:

1.  Connecting Consumer and Enterprise Technology Strategies

A clear convergence is occurring between consumer and enterprise technology.  At a bare minimum, retailers are finally beginning to think about systems investments with the customer at the center.  Part of this focus relates to point #3 below, but the key concept here is that alignment with consumer technology is top-line focused (i.e. more closely aligned with revenue), more intuitive for associates to learn, and can commonly take advantage of off-premise deployment options.

2.  Take Advantage of Easy Infrastructure Reduction Opportunities

Cloud-based software offerings, virtualization, thin-client deployments, etc, all represent quick-win, cost-reducing decisions. 

3.  Selling Systems Take Center Stage 

When it comes down to making investment decisions, if the spend does not directly impact selling systems it will be a tough sell to leadership.  POS, eCommerce, cross-channel experience, and digital advertising, are all areas that are hot as they impact top-line directly and tend to have quicker ROI.  Supply chain investments still matter but may be taken piecemeal more than they have been historically.