Seventy percent of retailers surveyed say they are already providing item-level RFID technology to better manage inventory, or plan to do so by 2021.

The survey asked retailers around the world to forecast their use of technology by 2021. The majority indicated that they plan to use automation technology to better personalize service at their stores, and to enable omnichannel sales with inventory visibility.

The survey was conducted by Zebra's market research partners, Research Now and Qualtrics. It consisted of online interviews of 1,700 retail decision makers across the apparel, department store, specialty store, supermarket, electronics, home improvement and drug store sectors.

In 2016, Zebra spent approximately six months interviewing global retailers , with a focus on CEO and CTO decision makers, says Ravi Kanniganti, Zebra Technologies' retail vertical market strategy director. It is one of a series of surveys Zebra conducts annually to elicit feedback from customers, he explains, adding, "These are critical for us to craft our long-term strategies."

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