Amid rapid economic shifts and dynamic consumer preferences, top retailers are betting on adaptable, AI-ready tech stacks to help them streamline operations and stay competitive. Nearly nine in 10 (85%) of retailers now say they use hybrid tech stacks — a combination of legacy systems and modern modular solutions — to improve operational efficiency, enhance agility and deliver exceptional customer experiences. 

The study, conducted in collaboration with Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions and Retail Dive, surveyed more than 500 global retail leaders across convenience store/fuel, grocery, hospitality, and specialty retail, to better understand how retailers are adapting their tech strategies to meet the unique challenges they’re facing today.

“Retail has faced several tectonic shifts over the past few years, and modular technologies blend scalability with flexibility to help retailers succeed in any environment,” said Sharon VanNoy-Frisby, senior product marketing manager, POS hardware and infrastructure at Toshiba. “We’re not only seeing leaders adopt hybrid tech stacks to stay agile at a company-wide level, but also tailor their tech stacks to the needs of individual retail locations.”

Mobile technology is also on the rise, and 62% of retailers report leveraging mobile devices to enhance customer assistance. So far, retailers have focused on using mobile technology to process payments (72%), check in-store inventory levels in real time (62%) and scan items (56%). But they’re increasingly exploring mobile devices as a tool to deliver product information and deepen customer relationships with personalized product recommendations.   

Finally, retailers are looking to modular technology to navigate the era of AI. Although just 12% of retailers report already integrating AI across multiple functions, 40% are piloting AI in limited areas, including customer service, dynamic pricing and demand forecasting. 

“Scalable modular solutions offer the ideal way to balance innovation and risk management with AI, since they allow retailers to layer AI-powered functionalities over their existing tech stacks,” said VanNoy-Frisby. “This ability to ‘plug and play’ helps retailers capture short-term wins without sacrificing scalability — which is the key to long-term AI transformation.”