# Retail Technology: Trends & IT Market Size Report **Key Takeaways:** - **Retail Industry technology spend is projected to reach $131.6 billion** in the next 12 months. - The United States is the largest market for IT in the Retail industry by more than **7x** versus the next highest spender (Germany). - The **top ten** Core ERP products for Retail companies are all developed by SAP, Oracle, and Microsoft. - **44%** of IT spending by Retail companies will go toward IT Services, **28%** will be spent on Software, **16%** on Hardware, and **12%** on Communications. - Retail industry technology trends like AI and machine learning, omnichannel experiences, and data analytics are impacting IT adoption and spend. The retail industry is more technologically connected than anyone could have imagined 30 years ago. Customers still shop in brick-and-mortar retail stores; but they also shop online, through social media, in marketplaces, and elsewhere — demonstrating the complexity of the buyer journey. Customer loyalty is harder to win than ever. The foundation for those customer experiences is the technology each retailer deploys. HG’s data can uncover how retailers are investing in IT across various categories, regions, and buyer profiles. According to the HG platform, **301,000 companies in the Ecommerce and Retail industry will spend $131.6 billion on IT over the next 12 months.** This report analyzes Retail technology trends in IT adoption, usage, and spend, including the leading vendors and products across five key categories. All data and insights were uncovered with the HG [Market Intelligence Platform](/content/solutions/products/hg-market-intelligence/index.html) over a forecast period of December, 2024 to December, 2025. ## Retail Technology Trends Here are three retail technology trends we are keeping an eye on and using to shape our market analysis: ### 1. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) As AI continues to spread through every industry, retail continues its long history of being a testing ground for the technology. Amazon’s first version of its Recommendation system [launched](https://www.amazon.science/the-history-of-amazons-recommendation-algorithm) in the early 2000s, and since then personalized shopping recommendations – powered by AI and ML algorithms – have propagated across the industry. Where to next? AI has a number of exciting use cases for retail: Predictive data analytics, dynamic price optimization based on real-time data, personalized marketing, and even applications in brick and mortar stores like “smart” shelves video analysis. We’re already seeing a number of popular uses for [Generative AI](/content/hgi/data-report/genai-readiness-report-the-most-ai-mature-companies-in-2024/index.html) in particular – from chatbots for customer service to product description drafting – all of which can improve operational efficiency and enhance customer experience. ### 2. Omnichannel shopping experience Consumer expectations for a seamless omnichannel experience are sky-high. Retailers will be analyzing existing infrastructure to ensure it aligns with their visions of the future, needing strong integrations between their commerce platforms and other key systems like inventory management and customer databases. ### 3. Data analytics and insights According to [PwC](https://www.strategyand.pwc.com/de/en/industries/consumer-markets/roi-of-customer-data.html), retailers that invest in customer data and implement specific use cases can expect a 3%-5% increase in contribution margin. Retailers are using integration solutions to pool data from different sources and leverage AI and ML to turn that data into insights. ## Retail Industry Market Size for IT HG’s data projects the Retail industry market size for IT will reach **$131.6 billion** over the next 12 months. Of the 4.3 million companies in the HG database, our analysis identified **301,000** businesses in the Ecommerce and Retail Trade industry spending money on IT solutions. ### IT Spend in Retail Industry (by Region) Source: This data was uncovered with HG Market Intelligence and includes only businesses with registered addresses Retail companies in the AMER region spend nearly twice as much on IT – **$73.4 billion**– versus EMEA (Europe, the Middle East, and Africa). APAC (Asia Pacific) accounts for only **15.4%** of global IT spend in the Retail industry. ### Retail Industry Market Size for IT (by Country) | Country | Total Spend | Total Companies | |--------------------------------------------|-------------------|------------------| | United States of America | $66,181,306,668 | 165,096 | | Germany | $8,791,685,318 | 10,511 | | United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland | $7,242,812,763 | 19,643 | | Japan | $7,051,411,490 | 8,050 | | China | $5,730,563,175 | 6,636 | | France | $3,845,013,838 | 7,236 | | Canada | $3,609,363,987 | 12,439 | | Netherlands | $2,200,962,505 | 3,397 | | Italy | $1,981,148,210 | 4,354 | | Australia | $1,688,394,101 | 9,129 | The United States is the largest market for IT in the Retail industry by more than **7x** versus Germany, the next highest spender. The country dwarfs other markets in the number of companies spending on IT as well, making up nearly **55%** of all buyers globally. ### Retail Market Size by IT Category Source: This data was uncovered with HG Market Intelligence and includes only businesses with registered addresses IT buyers in the Ecommerce and Retail industry are projected to spend **$57.3 billion** on IT Services in the coming 12 months, accounting for **44%** of total spending. Retailers will spend **$37 billion** on Software ( **28%**), **$20.9 billion** on Hardware ( **16%**), and **$15.4 billion** on Communications ( **12%**). ## Retail Industry Market Share for IT: Top Vendors and Products Using the HG platform, we’ve analyzed the Retail industry market share for IT vendors and products across five key IT categories: Cloud Services, Security Software, Core ERP, Database Management, Business Intelligence. ### Cloud Services in the Retail Industry According to HG’s data, Ecommerce and Retail companies will spend **$21.3 billion** on Cloud Computing Services in the next 12 months. #### Top Cloud Services Vendors Source: This data was uncovered with HG Market Intelligence and includes only businesses with registered addresses The three largest global cloud companies – Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft, and Google Cloud – lead by Retail Industry market share. AWS has nearly **6x** the detected installations versus Microsoft and **14x** versus Google Cloud. #### Top Cloud Services Products Source: This data was uncovered with HG Market Intelligence and includes only businesses with registered addresses **Four of the top five** Cloud Services products in the Retail Industry come from Amazon: AWS, Amazon Web Hosting, Amazon EC2, and Amazon S3. ### Security Software in the Retail Industry HG’s data projects that companies in the Retail industry will spend **$2.6 billion** on Security Software over the coming 12 months. #### Top Security Software Vendors Source: This data was uncovered with HG Market Intelligence and includes only businesses with registered addresses For the Ecommerce and Retail industry, Cloudflare rises above other Software Security vendors by Retail Industry market share with **63,411** detected installations. #### Top Security Software Products Source: This data was uncovered with HG Market Intelligence and includes only businesses with registered addresses For buyers in the Ecommerce and Retail industry, the top Core ERP providers are SAP ( **11,890** detected installs), Oracle ( **6,465** buyers when combined with NetSuite), and Microsoft ( **6,079** installs). ### Core ERP for the Retail Industry HG’s data projects that businesses in the Ecommerce and Retail industry will spend **$5.9 billion** on Core ERP Systems in the next 12 months. #### Top Core ERP Vendors Source: This data was uncovered with HG Market Intelligence and includes only businesses with registered addresses For buyers in the Ecommerce and Retail industry, the top Core ERP providers by Retail Industry market share are SAP ( **11,890** detected installs), Oracle ( **6,465** buyers when combined with NetSuite), and Microsoft ( **6,079** installs). #### Top Core ERP Products Source: This data was uncovered with HG Market Intelligence and includes only businesses with registered addresses - **SAP** – ERP, S/4HANA, ERP Central Component (ECC), etc. - **Oracle** – NetSuite, E-Business Suite, Fusion Cloud ERP, Fusion - **Microsoft** – Dynamics, Dynamics NAV ### Retail Database Management Systems HG’s data projects that businesses in the Retail industry will spend **$2.1 billion** on Database Management Systems over the next 12 months. #### Top Database Management System Vendors Source: This data was uncovered with HG Market Intelligence and includes only businesses with registered addresses Microsoft, Oracle, and PostgreSQL have the largest Retail Industry market share by technology installations among Database Management System vendors. #### Top Database Management System Products Source: This data was uncovered with HG Market Intelligence and includes only businesses with registered addresses - Microsoft: SQL Server ( **8,942** detected installs), Access ( **6,534**), and Transact-SQL ( **3,022**) - Oracle: MySQL ( **7,045** installs), Database ( **3,060**), and PL/SQL ( **2,863**) ### Business Intelligence (BI) in the Retail Industry HG data projects that Ecommerce and Retail companies will spend **$1.9 billion** on Business Intelligence (BI) and Analytics Tools in the next 12 months. #### Top Business Intelligence Vendors Source: This data was uncovered with HG Market Intelligence and includes only businesses with registered addresses Microsoft is leading among BI vendors by market share with **12,321** detected installations at Retail companies. #### Top Business Intelligence Products Source: This data was uncovered with HG Market Intelligence and includes only businesses with registered addresses Microsoft is the developer of Power BI, the top BI product for the Retail industry with **11,888** detected installations.