Let there be no doubt, retailers know their stores are in a tough spot: in desperate need of systems overhauls for both customer and employee facing technologies. In fact, in our latest report on “The State of the Store, ” they told us they realize just what a fine mess they have gotten themselves into.

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Source: RSR Research, June 2014

However, where this knowledge starts to crumble is in the way these problems get resolved. Are in-store technologies really so differentiating that the very mention of outsourcing them is forbidden?

Recall that many of retailers’ antiquated systems involved some measure of roll-your-own methodology – often times the result of a dangerous cocktail: the immediate need to meet customer demand combined with retailers’ insistence that their business model (and needs) are entirely too personal to be trusted in the hands of others. After all, it wasn’t long ago that retailers were in a similar spot with their eCommerce sites due to burgeoning online sales. And many are still paying the price for the self-concocted solutions they brought to bear fifteen years ago to meet online demand.

Rushing to self-design in-store solutions that may/may not meet impending customer demand is hardly an ideal solution in 2014, particularly when off-the-shelf solutions have improved so drastically in recent years.

The key, as ever, is to make sure the business need of whatever problem you’re trying to solve is addressed in the early stages, then test and measure the program’s effectiveness relentlessly. However, retailers’ technology problems don’t stop there. We invite you to read the full report, “What’s In Store for Stores? ” by following this link.