FRANKLIN, Tenn. — Retailers are investing over $120 billion this year in IT and communications technologies worldwide, with supermarkets alone spending $23 billion, according to Retail WorldView, a new IT sizing service offered by IHL Consulting Group here. "Retailers individually spend well below other industries, about one-third of the amount per revenue dollar compared to financial services and insurance," said Greg Buzek, president of IHL Consulting Group, in a statement. "However, what retailers lack in spending percentage of revenue they clearly make up in sheer volume, due to their high revenues. Retail is a huge market for IT that is growing just over 9% per year." According to IHL, North America represents about 45% of the overall total in technology spending in retail, with Europe/Middle East/Africa representing another 28%. While the Asia/Pacific market represents only 15% of worldwide IT spending, the region’s collective retail IT spending is increasing at a rate of over 20% annually and is expected to do so for the next 3 years.

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