Machine learning, IoT and big data: Retailers need to embrace latest tech or fall behind

Technology is the future of retail. A recent Sector Insights government report (PDF) said that retailers will need to embrace the latest technology trends, such as big data, and have the skills to work with digital systems if they are to be successful in the future. The retail industry is on the whole a voracious adopter of modern data-centric technology, aping the manufacturing world by using big data analytics to streamline supply chains, and using smartphone apps and wireless beacons to harvest customer data to deliver better service. However, Robert Hetu, retail research director at analyst house Gartner, noted that, despite having the technology to collect and access large amounts of digital data, retailers fail to put it to effective use. "With the rise of digital media came explosive growth in data volumes, and inexpensive storage encouraged retention of data with no present value because of the hope that it would be fruitful in the future," he said.