New research on online retailing technology investment

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A report just released by Forrester Research Inc., Online Retailing in Australia 2010: Technology Investment, delivers a number of interesting insights.

A report just released by Forrester Research Inc., Online Retailing in Australia 2010: Technology Investment, delivers a number of interesting insights.

According to the report, 69% of merchants intend to increase their investment in technology in the year ahead, with 21% planning on significantly increasing their technology spend.

From that pool, 53% nominated the base e-commerce platform as their technology investment priority for the coming year. Content management tools were also a major priority, nominated by 43%, followed by back-end integration on 42%.

Content

When it comes to content, Australian retailers see that as a definite opportunity to improve sales, but also a challenge in light of the resources required to manage an effective product content management strategy. The graph below records the respondents’ experiences with visual content.

©2010 Forrester Research, Inc

Systems Strategy

Mindshare is almost evenly divided between on-demand Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and traditional on-premises licensed software, according to the report. In the mid-sized tier of online retailers, Forrester also predicts growing acceptance of open source solutions, as the offerings in the market continue to improve.

A full copy of the report is available for purchase here.

Article by Grant Arnott

Grant Arnott is the editor and publisher of Power Retail. Other hats include Content Manager for the Online Retailer Conference, Program Director for the Online Retail Industry Awards, Global Head of The Media Pad Pty Ltd, and adoptive father of a fast-growing Golden Retriever. Grant has a specialist business publishing background spanning more than a decade, and contributes regularly to a multitude of print and digital business media.