Internet of Things in Retail Market Size

IoT in Retail Market Analysis

The global internet of things in the retail market is expected to witness a CAGR of 11.3% over the forecast period. The retail industry saw a significant impact from IoT in terms of boosting profitability and offering an enhanced omnichannel experience to retailers. With an existing network infrastructure likely to be used for 'connected things,' the investments and expenditures on analytics are projected to be high as companies strive to find new ways to analyze the significant volumes of smart device-generated data, augmenting the overall market's growth rate.

• IoT enables retailers to connect with both businesses and people. It allows retailers to gain insights into product performance and new ways of customer engagement with both new and existing customers. Several companies, like Kroger, Zara, Walmart, Tesco, etc., have launched smart devices to improve customer experience.
• Additionally, the e-commerce platform's use is rapidly increasing owing to the ease of shopping and smartphone penetration, which will likely boost the market. The increasing need for data analysis and analytics integration is expected to propel the utilization of the Internet of Things market over the forecast period. For instance, Amazon's first store in Seattle, the United States, is incorporated with a self-checkout service and mobile payment methods available on Android and iOS systems. The store is equipped with cameras, sensors, and RFID readers to identify shoppers and products and uses computer vision, deep learning algorithms, and the 'sensor fusion.'
• Also, with the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR) in retail establishments, the retail environment underwent a seismic shift. Retailers employ AI to identify the target market, comprehend the purchasing habits of past consumers, and provide customers with personalized product advertisements. For instance, in January this year, Google Cloud said it would launch four new artificial intelligence technologies aimed at retailers. The new technologies are mainly designed to aid retailers in transforming in-store shelf-checking processes and augment e-commerce operations, delivering more fluid and natural online shopping experiences. They also include a new "self-checking AI solution" that is primarily built on Vertex AI and leverages Google's extensive databases to provide retailers recognize "billions of products" and ensure that in-store shelves are well-stocked.
• However, with the rise in various security-related concerns and interoperability issues, the market's overall growth rate might get restrained throughout the forecast period.
• The pandemic significantly impacted IoT spending globally, especially in the retail sector. The merchants have postponed several new initiatives as their main priority during the economic crisis was maintaining corporate operations. As a result, IoT's retail market saw a revenue fall during the pandemic. However, it is anticipated that IoT use in retail will progressively rise after COVID-19. To eliminate human involvement and stop the coronavirus from spreading, retailers are already integrating AI technologies, cloud services, mobile payment systems, autonomous cleaning robots, and many others.