AMR Research says spending to increase 45% between 2007 and 2010 in these regions
According to an AMR Research report released today, software spending by retailers in China, India, and Russia will top $1.57B in 2010--an increase of 45% over 2007.

In addition, these retailers will increase their IT budgets an average of 25% between 2007 and 2010. Aggressive first-time spending for store technology over the next few years, especially in China, will see retailer budgets in these emerging economies far outpace those of their peers in more established countries.

"Economic growth and new consumer wealth in China, India, and Russia have driven global and local retailers to target these lucrative markets as part of their expansion strategies," explains Rob Garf, vice president and general manager of retail strategies at AMR Research. "To support growth initiatives, retailers are focusing not only on constructing new stores and hiring qualified employees, but also on building a technology architecture that, in most cases, didn't previously exist."

According to the report, the most common business priorities for retailers in these regions included increasing their understanding of consumer demand (22% cited it as their top priority) and improving the overall shopping experience (18%) in 2007. Priorities will expand in 2010, with an increased focus on consumer-centric merchandising and the strategic software investments that support this effort.

Of the 232 retailers in emerging markets surveyed, the majority will seek alternative relationships with their technology providers over the next few years. Between 2007 and 2010, acquiring software via the traditional licensed approach will diminish by 20%. Retailers in emerging areas of the world will shift toward software-as-a-service (increasing 56%), business process outsourcing (21%), and open source (69%).
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