Each year, CGI meets face-to-face with business and IT leaders to hear their perspectives on the trends affecting their organizations. In 2017, we conducted 128 in-person interviews with retail and consumer services clients to hear more about their top trends and priorities.

Top trends

Retail executives continue to cite digitalization to meet customer expectations as their top industry trend. Additional priorities include the need to optimize today’s operations and the desire to leverage big data and predictive analytics.

Top 2017 trends in retail and consumer services

  • 85% Becoming a digital organization to meet customer expectations
  • 72% Optimizing today's operations
  • 71% Leveraging big data and predictive analytics
  • 70% Protecting through cybersecurity
  • 70% applying omni-channel technologies to allow customers to shop anytime, anywhere from any device.

Looking ahead, executives cite the challenges associated with balancing regulatory compliance with transparency and sustainability as the top emerging trends within the retail and consumer services industries. Industry leaders also mention economic pressures facing consumers and shrinking operational margins as trends impacting the business.

Investing for innovation

While maintenance budgets remain flat, new investment budgets have increased, with the biggest areas for innovation being omni-channel experience technologies, digital employee tools, and predictive analytics. Leader envision an increase in digital transformation investment, with analytics and agile supply chain investments targeted for significant growth over the next three years.

Focus areas for retail and consumer services client innovation

  • Delivering an omni-channel experience
  • Providing digital employee tools
  • Leveraging predictive analytics
  • Applying phygital strategies (physical and digital world)
  • Hiring digital C-levels
  • Building an agile supply chain

Discover the insight

Download additional trend information from the 2017 CGI Client Global Insights retail and consumer services summary , and contact us for a copy of the full report and to arrange a personal discussion with a CGI retail expert for further analysis and insights.