Impact of IT on Retail & Consumer Services

Nowhere is the impact of technology more visible than in Retail and Consumer Services. Now, with IOT and smart phones, consumers are changing the way they buy in ways not seen before. This is meaning that for retailers, they are being caught in a quite literal war for survival, where for those with large bricks and mortar operations, it is not clear if their business model is even sustainable. Indeed it is estimated up to 140,000 jobs are at risk in the sector.

However, there are companies that are adapting successfully, where for the ones that are doing so, they are investing heavily into technology themselves, for context, vacancies in IT are up over 30% year on year, where within this, the fastest growing area of IT recruitment over the last two years has actually been for Android as businesses look to develop their own e-commerce functions. Mobile is indeed taking over retail.

Also worth mentioning is that businesses are starting to take IT security seriously at last. After several high profile incidents where consumer services companies have been found to be in breach of customer data, businesses now are staffing up aggressively to combat this threat. As a result IT security roles are up 97% year on year, making this the fastest growing area in IT.

To find out more about what has been happening in the sector, download our complimentary report now!