US and European retailer tech spend outlook: Near-term discretionary spend remains challenged with higher focus on productivity improvement through automation and gen-AI
1) Retail sales growth was largely resilient as reflected in higher than expected growth for Home Depot and Walmart in the Jun’23 quarter. Walmart has also increased sales and operating income guidance for CY23. 2) Discretionary retail continues to be under pressure. 3) Some retailers have highlighted their ongoing technology investments for improving customer and employee experience across physical and digital channels, speeding up online deliveries and exploring AI and large language models for predictive analytics.