Dive Brief:
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U.S. companies will nearly double their spending on e-commerce technology by the end of the decade, reaching some $2.1 billion by 2019, an overall growth of 75% from this year, according to Forrester Research’s US Commerce Platform Technology And Services Forecast, 2014 to 2019 report.
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The spending will be driven both by the growth of e-commerce and the need for upgrades, according to the report.
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Retailers, wholesale companies, and manufacturers are in need of software infrastructures that are scalable and that can handle the growth of mobile, according to Forrester.
Dive Insight:
Many retailers are in dire need of upgrades, but some may not really know the extent of their needs. Certainly mobile has entered the picture and is likely to remain a major e-commerce driver. With its rise, retailers will need the technology to help both customers and store associates seamlessly cross channels during the shopping journey.
Several larger retailers, like Target, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., and Macy’s, now run their own tech hubs, experimenting with a variety of gizmos and apps designed to entice and keep shoppers. Some of those experiments will turn out to be strokes of genius, while others will falter or fail.