Increased acceptance of online transactions and innovative customer acquisition strategies are driving growth in developing nations.Global retail IT spending among midmarket companies is expected to sharply increase in the next few years, from about $22 billion last year to almost $31 billion by 2009, an almost 41 percent increase, according to a new report from technology analysis firm AMI Partners.
AMI Partners Inc. defined the midmarket retailer as one with between 100 to 999 employees.
There are several reasons for the projected increase, but a key reason is accelerated IT investments in overseas markets—especially China, India and Korea.
Another key factor is intensified acceptance of credit cards and online applications, which makes it easier for smaller companies to compete, said Anin Bose, an AMI senior analyst. That top-line growth amounts to a CAGR (compounded average growth rate) of 6.9 percent, AMI Partners said.
Although the report does focus extensively on Asian and European retailers, it concludes that retail technology spending will increase across almost all regions.
For the same 2004 to 2009 projection, the report has "mature markets"—including the U.S, the U.K., Canada, France, Italy, Scandinavia and Germany—rising from $20.3 billion to $27.85 billion (a 37 percent increase and a CAGR of 6.5 percent).
Read the rest of this story on market growth, including details on what market segments are seeing the most growth, and caveats on rosy expectations, on CIOInsight.com.
And, check out eWEEK.com's for the latest news, views and analysis on technology's impact on retail.
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