Technology in Retail: From centre stage to supporting player

Description

Australian retailers have had an interesting relationship with digital technology. If the relationship was a romantic comedy, then the 90s/00s were the early part of the movie, where the title characters are sworn enemies who will never find common ground. More recently, we have entered the phase where both leads grudgingly acknowledge the existence of each other, but are still awkward around one another, with misunderstandings and obstacles galore. Like the best rom coms, the next few years should see a glorious finale, where both parties realise they are meant to be together, and neither can function properly without the other.

But before the violins swell and the credits roll, we want to take a deeper look at what’s happening with digital technology in the Australian retail sector.

Is technology the knight on a white horse that will ride in and save the day for the bricks-and-mortar retail sector, or is it all a bit more complicated?