What are the Top Tech Priorities for Online Retailers?

According to the first annual Retail Tech Forecast from LightSpeed, inventory management and predictive analytics software, in-store mobile device integration, and e-commerce solutions are the biggest technology priorities for independent brick-and-mortar retailers.

“Retailers are sending a clear message when it comes to technology: they want solutions that enhance efficiency and improve the customer experience, all things that can help them make more money right away,” said Dax Dasilva, Founder and CEO of LightSpeed.

“Tools which help retailers sell smarter and better, like mobile checkout, mobile inventory lookup, and integrated e-commerce, are on the rise, because they generate tangible results virtually the minute they get deployed.”

The company surveyed 640 of its users, primarily independent store owners with relatively large or complex inventories, about the technologies critical to their businesses today and those they believe will be most important down the road.

RELATED: 17,000 Retailers Using LightSpeed Processed $6 Billion in Transactions Last Year

While cutting edge innovations like iBeacons, heat mapping, fitting room technologies, and smart screens have made their mark as hot topics of conversation in the media, LightSpeed wanted to learn what retailers really have on their minds and forecasted in their budgets.

They found that most merchants focus their limited budgets — 82 percent of respondents have a technology budget of less than $200/month — on digital tools that they believe will immediately impact their bottom lines.

Check out the complete report online.