The latest edition of the annual Pulse of Retail report, exploring the strategies of leading retailers for the upcoming year, was officially released at last week’s NRF 2023 event in New York.
The Mercaux offering, which surveyed more than 500 retailers, has for the first time been jointly commissioned by fellow MACH Alliance members, Fluent Commerce, commercetools and Orium.
According to the research, the top technologies in “launch phase” are centered around customer experiences, with 87% of retailers focusing on this area during 2023.
Additionally, the survey found that composable architectures are important for 91% of respondents, suggesting that retailers are recognizing the need for flexibility and scalability in their technology systems, in order to quickly adapt to changing customer needs and market trends.
Meanwhile, transitioning from legacy to next generation Point of Sale (PoS) systems is important for 79% of retailers.
However, the survey revealed that just 11% of retailers currently offer a frictionless omnichannel experience, where customers can seamlessly transition from shopping online to in-store, and vice versa.
