E tail 2013 report

2013 Retail Technology
Spending Report
Compiled at the 2013 eTail Palm Springs event
Brought to you by

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2013 Retail Technology
Spending Report
eTail, now in its 15th year, presents senior-level case studies, panels, workshops and
roundtable discussions covering the challenges faced in all aspects of multi-channel and
online retail.
eTail is focused on providing detailed tactics and innovative strategies during our annual
conferences. Gathering insight from our attendee base not only enriches the conference
experience, but provides an additional level of benchmarking that may not be obtained
during regular conference sessions.
During Q1 2013, eTail fielded over 100 retailer surveys in order to uncover technology
spending habits from a number of verticals, including but not limited to; apparel, sporting
goods, consumer electronics, travel and hospitality, mass market retailers, as well as
specialty/niche. Where are retailers spending, and why? What insight can be gleaned from
the research results? We’ve revamped our past surveys and partnered with AT&T in order
to provide deeper insight into these trends.
The purpose of this study is to ascertain the technology spending habits,
industry trends and gain a future outlook from a sample of cross-industry,
cross-vertical retail executives. Respondents were anonymous, and responses
were gathered during the eTail West conference in February of 2013.
Twice every year, the organizers of the eTail conference spend 6-9 months
(continuously) conducting phone and email surveys with executive-level
retailers from top industry brands. Based on our findings, the majority of
retailers in 2013 will be focused on:
• Cross-Channel Optimization
• Data and Business Intelligence
• Omnichannel Commerce
• Personalization
• Usability/Testing/User
Experience Enhancements
• Conversion Optimization
• Email
• SEO, SEM
• Mobile
• Social Media
2
General Research Findings
Primary Research Methodology
*Table of Contents
Introduction ........................2
Primary Research
Methodology ......................2
General Research Findings....2
Complete Survey Results ......3
Summary or Conclusions......9
Additional Survey
Questions ..........................10
Technology Spending
Reference Articles ..............11
About eTail ........................12
About AT&T ......................12
2013 Retail Technology Spending Report

The charts below outline where respondents are
spending externally in terms of solutions in the
next 12 months.
Complete Survey Results
On a percentage basis, survey respondents are planning to spend
budget in each area in the next 12 months:1
3
Merchandising and
Visualization
Multi-Channel
Initiatives
Personalization
(website)
Web Analytics/Data
Management
Usability/Testing/
User Experience
Global Solutions
SEM
SEO
Display advertising
Email
Mobile (apps)
Mobile (site design)
Social Media
(paid advertising)
Social Engagement
(earned)
Online Video
Content Management/
eCommerce Platform
CRM Systems,
Customer Segmentation,
Loyalty Programs
58% 4% 33%
55% 9% 35%
49% 13% 36%
40% 5% 47%
63% 7% 24%
67% 5% 20%
45% 5% 43%
25% 16% 52%
60% 10% 27%
60% 11% 23%
60% 8% 26%
43% 23% 28%
66% 4% 28%
53% 13% 28%
57% 6% 32%
32% 23% 38%
54% 41%
I % of respondents planning
to spend MORE in the next 12
months
to spend LESS in the next 12
months
to spend THE SAME
AMOUNT in the next 12
months

Attendees were asked what their spending decisions
are based upon. They responded as follows.
I 60% Display advertising
I 51% SEM
I 51% Email
I 49% SEO
I 43% Social Media (paid advertising)
I 40% Personalization (website)
I 31% Online Video
I 31% Web Analytics/Data Management
I 27% Usability/Testing/User Experience
I 25% CRM Systems, Customer
Segmentation, Loyalty Programs
I 25% Multi-Channel Initiatives
I 24% Content Management/
eCommerce Platform
I 24% Merchandising and Visualization
I 23% Social Engagement (earned)
I 19% Moble (site design)
I 15% Mobile (apps)
I 15% Global Solutions
of attendees said their Display
Advertising spending decisions
are based upon an ROI Analysis
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
60%
4
Percentage of Spending Decisions That Are Based Upon An ROI Analysis2

3
5
eCommerce Platform
I 31% Online Video
I 24% Merchandising and Visulization
I 21% SEO
I 19% Email
I 19% Mobile (apps)
I 17% SEM
of attendees said that their Content
Management/eCommerce Platform
and Global technology spending
decisions are based upon a
Management Decision
36%
Percentage Of Spending Decisions Based Upon A Management
Decision
40
30
20
10
0

6
I 11% Mobile (apps)
I 4% SEO
I 4% Online Video
eCommerce Platform
I 2% SEM
of attendees said their Mobile
(site design) technology spending
is based upon Time to Market13%
Percentage Of Spending Decisions Based Upon Time To Market4
15
10
5
0

Percentage Of Spending Decisions Based Upon Ease Of Execution5
eCommerce Plate
I 11% Email
I 9% Online Video
I 9% Mobile (apps)
I 2% SEM
I 2% SEO
of attendees said their Content
Management/eCommerce
Platform spending decisions are
based upon Ease Of Execution
15%
7
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0

6 Percentage Of Spending Decisions Based Upon Competitive
Pressures
I 23% Mobile (apps)
I 11% Online Video
I 10% SEM
I 6% SEO
I 6% Email
eCommerce Platform
of attendees said their Mobile
(apps) spending decisions are based
upon Competitive Pressures23%
8
25
20
15
10
5
0
The 2013 Technology & Retailer Spending Outlook Benchmarking Study

Summary Of Conclusions
I Over 60% of respondents are planning to spend more in the next 12 months, in the areas
of SEO, SEM, personalization, mobile (site design), and social engagement (earned).
I The majority of respondents are planning to spend less in the next 12 months on CRM
systems, display advertising and social media (paid advertising).
I The majority of respondents are spending the same amount year over year on
merchandising and global solutions.
I 60% of survey respondents base their spending decisions for display advertising on an ROI
Analysis. Overall, our attendees tend to make their spending decisions in the majority of
categories based upon an ROI Analysis, except int the area of mobile site design. Spending
is this area is NOT based upon ROI Analysis.
I Less than 36% of survey respondents made overall spending decisions based upon a
management decision.
I Less than 13% of survey respondents made overall spending decisions based upon time to
market. 12% stated that mobile site design decisions are made based upon time to market.
I Almost 25% of respondents make spending decisions for mobile apps based upon
competitive pressures. Comparatively, only 2% of web analytics/data management solution
decisions are made based upon competitive pressures.
I 15% of content management solutions are made based upon ease of execution. This is the
highest percentage of respondents stating that ease of execution was the primary reason
why they purchased certain content management solutions.
I Personalization
I Multi-Channel Initiatives
I Email
9
*
The top areas retailers are most likely to spend budget on within the next 12 months are:
I Display advertising
I Social Media (paid advertising)
I Global Solutions
*
I ROI Analysis
I Management Decision
I Competitive Pressures
The top areas retailers are least likely to spend budget on within the next 12 months are:
The top inﬂuencers as for why retailers chose to spend/not spend their budget within the
next 12 months are:
*
The 2013 Technology & Retailer Spending Outlook Benchmarking Study

2
3
When asked the following survey questions, our
respondents answered as follows:
Additional Survey Questions
What do you see as the biggest growth area in the next year?1
The overwhelming majority of those surveyed answered that mobile
would see the most growth. This was also a trend noted by eTail conference
presenters, as mobile was the mostly consistently referenced growth area.
What % of your budget do you spend on search (SEM) and
social media?
4
When asked, “What are your top four priorities in terms of
technology enhancements?” the top answers were as follows:
When asked, “How are you using social media?” respondents
answered as follows:
On average, respondents indicated that they spend more on search, and
are less likely to spend on social media.
Engagement was the reason noted by survey respondents. In contrast, generating
sales is the least likely reason they are using social media.
I Commerce
I Social
I Branding
5
When asked, “What are your top four priorities in terms of
technology enhancements?” the top answers were as follows:
I Mobile
I CRM
I Video
I Speed
The 2013 Technology & Retailer Spending Outlook Benchmarking Study10
I 76% Engagement
I 34% PR
I 30% Advertising
I 29% Customer Service
I 20% Sales

Technology Spending
Reference Articles
The practice of “showrooming,” or viewing an item in a retail store and then buying it online, has brought the e-
commerce threat directly to bricks-and-mortar retailers.
Mobile raises the showrooming threat to a new level since price comparisons are available to shoppers
immediately, as they make decisions and browse e-commerce websites in stores.
In a new report from BI Intelligence, we analyze mobile showrooming's influence on retail, examine the various
different types of consumer behavior that make up showrooming, look at what the big retailers are doing to
combat showrooming, and identify the five broad strategies that will help brick-and-mor ter retailers win business
from showroomers.
Here's a brief overview of the impact of showrooming:
It has a massive impact on every day sales: Deloitte Digital believes smartphones influenced $159 billion in U.S.
store sales over the course of 2012 or 5% of the total, and will influence $689 billion of store sales in 2016.
Holiday season sales are particularly impacted by showrooming: IDC, a global market intelligence firm, predicted
that smartphone use influenced between $700 million and $1.7 billion in U.S. holiday season retail sales in 2012.
Fifty-nine million U.S. shoppers will use their smartphones to showroom in 2013.
Specific retailers, such as JC Penney, suffer more from the practice: A recent study revealed that JC Penney —
which just announced a disastrous 32% decline in same-store sales for the fourth quarter of 2012 — is at risk
from showrooming because showroomers visited its locations 14% more frequently than the average U.S.
shopper did in January 2013. Other chains like PetSmart and Kohl's had even worse results.
Dramatic responses underscore the threat: U.S. electronics retailer Best Buy announced last month that starting
March 3, 2013, its stores would match the prices of 19 major online competitors, including Apple, Amazon, and
Buy.com. Target also has a price-matching policy in effect.
Taken From Business Insider
Retailers are spending, or planning to spend, on tablets and mobile devices for their employees and on tools, apps,
and services that consumers can use within stores. If you are a small retailer, look for ways you can leverage your
customer relationships to keep in conversations.
The smallest retailers are showing the greatest desire to purchase POS hardware (25 percent) and software (29
percent) for the coming year. As with the past couple of years, mobile looms large, as nearly one-third of retailers (all
sizes) are looking to adopt tablets or non-rugged handhelds in the next 12 months.
Even grocery and food stores are getting into the mix: 38 percent of them plan to purchase tablets in the next 12
months.
Taken From Forbes
11 The 2013 Technology & Retailer Spending Outlook Benchmarking Study

About eTail
eTail is a conference series held bi-annually in the United States, as well as internationally,
offering best practices and tactical strategies presented by retail innovators from every
facet of the industry. It is the premier multi-channel and online retail conference dedicated
to supporting the growth of the retail industry through high-level networking and
extensive thought leadership.
WBR, the creator of the eTail conference series, is an independent research organization,
devoting 100% of its resources towards executing industry-leading conferences
eTail is Made by Retail for Retailers. The event content, format and speaker faculty were
put together by not only months of research with retailers from every part of the industry,
but also steered by our retail Advisory Board of leading e-commerce and multi-channel
executives. eTail responds to the immediate needs of the industry, helping attendees
capitalize on every single growth opportunity.
As many retailers have learned, the eCommerce industry never allows for complacency.
Trends have been combining to create an explosion of innovation and investment in the
online retailing channel. The result is a dynamic and competitive selling environment that
will challenge every online seller to satisfy and thrill online shoppers – before another
retailer does.
If you haven’t already,please visit www.etaileast.com for details on the next 2013
conference. Remember to join the eTail community and receive additional free content on
Linkedin, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and The eTail Blog.
About AT&T
www.ATT.com/ecommerce
With the growth of video, personalization, social networks, eCommerce, eLearning and
mobile users, managing online interactions requires high performance and scale. AT&T
enables enterprises to effectively manage, package, and distribute their online content
across a wide range of networks to the computer, the television, and mobile computing
devices, turning browsers into buyers.

Why should you
attend eTail?
Retailers have to be smarter about their businesses considering today’s competitive
landscape. And that’s why eTail is here, the leading practicioners conference for the
online and multi-channel industry. eTail delivers the conference experience you are
looking for, to ensure your business is positioned for growth.
1. Group Learning And Retailer Networking Stay At The Forefront.
The “X Factor” to every conference experience is about your retail peers interacting
meeting you on a daily basis. eTail attendees come to the event to not only learn- but
to meet each other.To figure out a way around an issue they’ve been struggling with.
Many attendees say these interactions are the most valuable at an event- which is
why we have peer to peer networking every day of the conference.
2. Multiple Options To Fit Your Needs.
There are a lot of conferences out there.That’s why we don't just rely upon our
experience to build the content. We contact almost every single past attendee and
ask the difficult questions. What they like. What they don’t. What content matters. With
diverse content, curated by retailers, you can be assured to have detailed actionable
insights that you can immediately take back to your peers. Or you can bring them with
you- there is something for everyone.
3. Practical Sessions That Provide Focused Tactics
In order for you to justify your registration, we have to make sure we deliver content
that you need. So we keep the topics specific. Speakers focus on the business case
and core concepts, and provide real-life case studies and the data to back them up.
It’s easy to secure your spot at our next conference. Simply visit our website
www.etaileast.com or call 1.888.482.6012.
CLICK HERE to view the eTail East Conference Agenda*

E tail 2013 report

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