Analyst Corner

  For years IHL has relied on a customized search engine that we created that is a “target rich environment” for all things retail technology. Essentially, this search engine harnesses the power of Google but prioritizes a list of over 2,500 vendor and retail news sites before checking further. So […]

Last month I had the opportunity to attend Aptos Engage. Like most of the retail technology user conferences this year, the event was held virtually, with the hope that next year the event would be in person. I happen to have a long history with Aptos. When I first entered […]

NASHVILLE — June 8, 2021 – Today IHL Group is so thankful to celebrates 25 years in business. The Franklin, Tennessee based retail analyst firm started as IHL Services, Inc. in June of 1996. “Today we celebrate God’s faithfulness, our amazing friends and clients in the industry that gave us […]

Driven by multiple rounds of stimulus the US retail economy is starting to hum.  But where are things going to be by March of 2022?  Our recent 2021 Global Consumer Study looked at the timing and growth of the world retail economy. We have shared the global numbers in a […]

Even prior to the COVID-19 global pandemic, retailers were already moving to a future with less  friction. While there are already several small format stores that are fully frictionless, for most retail environments the future involves a combination of technologies that remove friction from the purchase process, but are not completely automated. Recently we released a […]

Even prior to the COVID-19 global pandemic, retailers were already moving to a future with less  friction. While there are already several small format stores that are fully frictionless, for most retail environments the future involves a combination of technologies that remove friction from the purchase process, but are not completely automated. Recently we released a […]

Retailers and restaurants are ramping up lobbying efforts in Washington DC to fight a proposed nationwide value-add-tax (VAT) similar to those used in the European Union recently proposed by the Biden administration.  The nationwide sales tax would apply to both products and services (excluding medical services) and would fund infrastructure […]

The initial data set of our global consumer study is in and our initial views have some really interesting data.  The biggest challenge in the initial presentation is going to be limiting the revealed results to a manageable number.  Just a reminder, deadline for sponsors to be in the study […]