We’ve just launched our latest Store Report – the 17^th in 17 years. In that time, to say our industry has undergone its fair share of change would be an understatement. But by and large – stores really haven’t. The cold truth is most stores still look and feel far too similar to how they did 5, 10, and in many cases: 17 years ago. When will the promise of all the miraculous technology that surrounds us find its way into retail stores in big and meaningful ways? And not just at flagship stores – at the one right down the street?

To find out, we conducted a different type of research than our usual annual Store Report. Rather than survey all product segments, revenue bands and performance levels, we queried the retailers who are most likely to be at the forefront of technology-enablement in their stores – fashion & specialty retailers – all with high annual revenue. Our friends at Jumpmind sponsored the work.

The full report also focuses on retailers that are outperforming the norm in sales, and as such, can be seen as a deep look into a very specialized – and advanced – set of the retail market. The following are some of the highlights of our findings:

• Retailers are all-in on the future of stores. 85% of our respondents agree that the store remains the primary strategy for their company’s growth. The number is even higher – 90% – for those with the best sales performance in our group. This is great news in the current climate: wild times may come and go, but stores WILL remain – and they have to perform.
• Far too many retailers say their POS system, however, is not what it should be. In the year 2025, 20% think a POS’s role is simply to facilitate transactions, while another 33% say their point-of-sale system is actively holding them back, preventing them from offering an innovative or differentiated store experience. Real change needs to happen here.
• Retailers continue to give their stores far higher marks than do their shoppers, a trend that only grows each year. The good news is that the best performers appear to be more aware of these chasms and are investing more in both customer-facing AND associate-facing technologies to help reverse the damage.
• Despite incessant market turbulence, retailers have a significant amount of money set aside to invest in stores in the coming 12-18 months: 70% have planned investments in their assisted selling/endless aisle capabilities, while 66% of the best performers will be investing in their in-store’s ability to handle cross-channel customer orders in real time. The coming year should be an exciting time for stores.

As always, the report is free, and you can find it here. This one features 23 charts and 30 pages of in-depth analysis. And if you report our reports you already know – we don’t just point out the problems and drop the mic. We end this project – as we always do – by offering up some pragmatic suggestions on how any/all retailers can and should proceed – even in wild times like these.

We hope you find it interesting!