Navigating the fast-paced and relentless competition in retail is tough. The recently unveiled 25^th Annual Customer Engagement Unified Commerce & POS Report – a research project conducted by Retaill Consulting Partners and sponsored by Verifone – sheds light on the priorities and challenges that will shape the future of the industry this year. Read on to discover how personalization, self-service, and AI-driven solutions are leading the charge on this front.

Retail’s Top Priorities

The newly release study, which spanned over 100 top retailers in the US, found that merchants are focused on balancing customer experience enhancements with cost reduction. According to the report, 54% are looking to prioritize expanding customer experience, while 53% aim to reduce operating costs—a clear reflection of the need to drive efficiency while remaining consumer-focused.

POS Priorities

2025 is set to be the year when POS takes the center stage. Over 60% of those interviewed stated that POS software upgrade or replacement will be a strategic focus for their businesses this year. In addition, to better service customers and exceed their expectations, more than half of respondents are targeting Mobile POS deployments or upgrades.

The Self-Service Revolution

Consumers increasingly expect convenience through self-service technologies, yet only 19% of retailers believe their current solutions work well. While popular options like self-checkout (56%) and mobile scan-and-pay capabilities (45%) are widely implemented, there’s significant room for improvement. Encouragingly, 94% of retailers have implemented or plan to adopt self-checkout solutions, signaling a strong commitment to this evolution.

Personalization as a Priority

Personalization tops retailers’ engagement priorities, with almost half of those surveyed focused on tailoring experiences. Despite 66% already implementing some form of personalization, only 28% are satisfied with its results. This highlights an urgent need to refine approaches like personalized rewards and tailored recommendations to better meet customer expectations.

Unified Commerce and OMS Progress

The vision for unified commerce—a holistic strategy fueled by real-time data across all channels—is still in its early stages. Although 85% of retailers claim to have implemented it in the past couple of years, only 10% use a common order management system (OMS) for centralized execution. Investments in OMS replacements and upgrades highlight the industry's push to create seamless, interconnected customer journeys.

Looking Ahead

From consolidation and upgrade of payment solutions to enhancing personalization and refining self-service options, retailers must innovate to build resilient, customer-forward operations. With unified commerce leading the way, the opportunity to meet evolving consumer demands has never been greater.

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Read the full report

Access the full 25th Annual Customer Engagement Unified Commerce & POS report to get all the details on survey results, including insights on retailers' AI plans for the shopping experience.