The 5G Dividend: How Store-Level Connectivity Is Driving Retail’s Financial Performance Gap
Retail has spent years debating which technologies truly move the needle on financial performance. While AI grabs the headlines and computer vision dominates conference keynotes, the IHL Group’s latest research “How Retail Leaders Outperform – What We Learned from 400+ Brands” reveals a surprising truth: 5G connectivity at the store level is delivering some of the strongest correlations to sales and profit growth in retail today.
The data is powerful. Retailers with up-to-date 5G at the store level experienced 51% higher sales growth and 34% higher profit growth in 2024-25 compared to those without it. These improvements are creating a performance separation between connected and disconnected retailers.
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The current state of 5G adoption
Despite the clear financial benefits, 5G adoption in retail remains relatively early-stage. The IHL Group research shows 22% of retailers currently have up-to-date 5G deployments at store level, with another 17% planning to purchase within 12 months. However, 32% of retailers report no plans for 5G at all.
This adoption gap is creating a bifurcation in the market. Sales winners are 128% more likely to plan to purchase 5G technology within 12 months than their lagging counterparts. Show a clear pattern where high-performing retailers recognize 5G as a competitive enabler, while struggling retailers continue to underinvest in foundational connectivity.
The performance correlation extends beyond historical results into future expectations. Retailers with up-to-date 5G have profit growth expectations for 2026 that are 60% higher than those without it. Their sales growth expectations are 49% higher. Whether these expectations are a function of 5G enabling better performance or a function of forward-thinking retailers investing in both connectivity and growth strategies, the correlation is worth examining.
The Financial Performance Correlation
Our analysis reveals 5G in the store as one of the top five technologies driving profit growth for retailers. The research shows up-to-date 5G deployments result in 71% higher profits than those note using the technology. This ranks 5G alongside geo-location technology, mobile devices for associates, retail media network support, and microservices as the technologies most correlated with profitability.
The broader investment pattern among 5G adopters tells another important story. Retailers with up-to-date 5G have enterprise IT spend expectations that are 40% higher than non-adopters. Their store IT spend growth as a percentage of revenue is 72% higher. Their AI spend growth expectations are 31% higher.
These patterns suggest 5G adoption correlates strongly with an overall technology-forward investment posture. Whether 5G drives performance directly or serves as a marker for companies with more sophisticated technology strategies, the financial outcomes are consistently superior.
Why 5G Matters for Retail Operations
The enthusiasm for 5G among retailers reflects practical operational benefits. Computer vision technology, which many retailers are deploying or considering, is not a standalone solution. IHL research notes that computer vision functions within a larger ecosystem that includes RFID, edge computing, 5G, and cloud computing. These technologies complement and augment each other, creating synergies and enabling new possibilities for retail innovation.
Network infrastructure serves as the foundation for these advanced capabilities. While data quality remains the Achilles heel of AI, bandwidth is often one of the most limiting factors to efficiency, sales growth, and loss prevention initiatives.
Use Cases Driving 5G Value
The IHL research identifies several applications where retailers are deploying 5G to drive results:
WAN Backup and Resilience: Retailers are using 5G as a network backup to maintain operations when primary connections fail. This application addresses the mission-critical nature of retail systems, where unplanned downtime creates costly store disruptions.
Kiosk Connectivity: Many retailers deploy 5G-connected kiosks that operate independently from the store’s primary network. This approach simplifies deployment, improves security segmentation, and enables faster rollouts of customer-facing technology.
Connected Store Operations: 5G enables the real-time communication and data processing required for modern omnichannel fulfillment. Successful omnichannel operations require integrated systems connecting inventory accuracy, workforce coordination, and real-time communication across all fulfillment methods.
Edge Computing Support: Because analytics processing burden in edge computing models falls on devices at the store level, network performance becomes increasingly important. 5G provides the speed and latency characteristics needed for edge AI applications, computer vision, and real-time inventory management.
The evidence from IHL Group’s research is consistent: 5G at store level correlates strongly with superior financial performance across multiple metrics. Whether this reflects direct operational benefits or serves as a marker for technology-forward investment strategies, the outcome remains the same. Retailers with modern connectivity infrastructure are outperforming those without it.
5G is one of 33 technologies in the research study “How Retail Leaders Outperform”. For more information go here.