This 153 page report investigates the challenges of the North American Supermarket Retailer and how information technology can be utilized to meet those challenges. For retailers this report includes the latest research on technology trends as well as technical profiles of top retailers like Kroger, Safeway, SuperValu, Wal-Mart, Costco and others. The study includes detailed IT Spend and technical profiles for each of the Top 20 retailers sellign grocery items.

Retail WorldView is IHL's IT Sizing model for the worldwide retail marketplace. With over 100 categories of hardware, software, services, and labor/overhead, Retail WorldView is the most comprehensive IT sizing model in the retail industry. Retail WorldView is available for purchase by region, segment or as a complete worldwide view. Whether you are vendor with an application in one area or you have a broad portfolio of products, Retail WorldView is designed to show you where the opportunities are today in each region worldwide and can be customized specifically for your company's needs looking forward.

Named after the greek word for wisdom, Sophia is by far the most comprehensive source of not just data, but key wisdom for smart decisions in the retail industry. It is the only data service that links IT spend, to specific technology, to specific personnel, to specific financial results, tied together and backed by our advisory staff. Accessed online through the MyIHL link, Sophia provides insight into nearly 200 types of hardware/software/services and key personnel for over 2,500 retailers and restaurants. Your enterprise subscription allows everyone in your organization to create targeted mailing lists of key executives, do competitive analysis, look up market share and understand IT spend for an individual retailer or thousands of companies
Read a Microsoft Case Study on Sophia Here

Now with the NRF-ARTS RFP Framework inside, the RAPID POS Project Toolkit is a methodology to facilitate POS hardware and/or software replacement for retailers. As most retailers keep their POS systems 5-15 years, the people that were involved in the last POS planning exercise are usually no longer available for this next generation project. In addition there are undocumented features that have crept into the current system that need to be included and a new vision for what the latest technology can provide is required. The POS RAPID Toolkit is comprised of templates and tools for RAPID scope definition of a project, development of an RFP, vendor selection and project execution, resulting in a typical 12 week reduction in the RFP process while ensuring all functional requirements and vendor selection occurs via a comprehensive and thorough process.

With more than $161 Billion in sales through self-checkout in 2007, this study looks at arguably the hottest store-level retail technology of today. The report focuses on the consumer acceptance of the technology by age, gender, income and region of North America. We look at differences between those who like Self-Checkout and those who don't. The report also reviews the opinions of consumers by the various retailers they frequent for Food, DIY and Consumer Electronics.

In this 53 page market study, we delve deep into the POS Software market for Hardgoods Retailers. We identify which software providers are leading the pack, what is their market share and what complementary systems their software has been installed within the industry.

In this 57 page market study, we delve deep into the POS Software market for Softgoods retailers. We identify which software providers are leading the pack, what is their market share and what complementary systems their software has been installed within the industry.

This report looks at arguably one of the more explosive yet most difficult areas to define in the IT sector - namely Self-Service Kiosks. Key to any review of Kiosks is a definition of what types of kiosks that are included. In this study we ventured beyond retail in the breadth of our discussion, but focused only on those devices where payment is currently or soon to be taken.

Everywhere you look there is new presidential poll being released. Obama is up, McCain is gaining. Yet, each of us is hardpressed to find anyone that we know that has ever been polled by one of the big organizations on this election. Why is that? Who are retail technology professionals voting for in this election. See the results of the IHL Eye on Retail Information Systems (EyeRIS)... [ More ]

The following knowledgeable industry leaders and scholars from Business Wire's ExpertSource database are available to discuss topics relating to Holiday III, Internet Shopper. Mr. Greg Buzek is the Founder and President of IHL Consulting Group. Noted by RIS News as one of the 25 Most Influential People in Retail, he is frequently quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, and the Washington Post and has been used as a retail technology analyst on NBC Nightly News, CBS News, and CNBC.... [ More ]

According to Volante, the number of POS terminals running Linux in North America has increased 80 percent since 2002 (it did not cite a source for the figures). Meanwhile, the IHL Group in February reported that Linux accounted for $475 million of the $5.56 billion North American POS market, putting it third overall with an 8.5 percent market share, behind Windows-based machines and just barely behind IBM 4690 terminals. Yet, Linux is gaining ground fast, the IHL Group found. ... [ More ]

Historically, retailers have experienced challenges with tracking in-store inventories. According to the January 2008 IHL/RIS News Store Systems Study, out-of-stocks alone may contribute up to $93 billion of lost revenue for retailers, higher operational costs, and an erosion of customer service.... [ More ]

While expensive to implement, kiosks and self-checkouts cut labor costs, add sales options, and provide faster customer service, vendors and consultants say. A report from IHL Consulting Group predicts self-service sales will more than triple to more than $1.7 trillion by 2012. ... [ More ]

However, recent drop in fuel prices during Back-to-School season could be welcome news to retailers Franklin, TN - August 19, 2008 - The U.S. government has sent out $92 Billion in stimulus checks so far but the effects have been more than offset by higher consumer prices. In fact, 143.9%... [ More ]

FRANKLIN, TN - June 18, 2008 - Transactions at self-service kiosks will surpass $607 Billion this year in North America, as consumers continue to embrace self service technology. The amount will more than triple by 2012 to over $1.7 Trillion, according to a new research study conducted by the IHL Gr... [ More ]