From the Internet of Things to voice interface: how ecommerce directors plan to invest

Some 35% of ecommerce, multichannel and digital directors questioned for a study by commerce consultancy Salmon, quoted by Internet Retailing, said enabling the Internet of Things was a priority as they looked to drive sales and improve the customer experience. The research, which also questioned directors at wholesale and manufacturing companies, found that 61% were currently investing in the IoT, 69% in robots and 60% in machine learning.

More than half (53%) said they planned to invest in voice interface technology over the next five years, while almost three in five (59%) wanted to take advantage of virtual/mixed reality, 69% in robots and 60% in machine learning by 2022.

Salmon says it seems many ecommerce businesses aren’t ready for the future just yet: 29% don’t have the technology in place to cope with emerging trends in the next five years and 20% lack the tech to keep up with the niche players. Some are also fighting against the tide while trying to implement new technology with 30% saying that a major pain point when implementing an ecommerce platform is the businesses resistance to change.

See the whole report (PDF file)