Technology: advancing retail buyer performance in the twenty‐first century

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explain how buyers can more effectively and efficiently utilize technologies to improve their performance and to inform top executives in retail firms how these technologies can be used to improve the overall performance of the retail store. Design/methodology/approach – Using a descriptive approach, the paper identifies current technologies that are being used and shows how technology can be used by retail buyers. Findings – Technologies developed over the past 20 years have changed the way buyers execute their responsibilities with advancements in various technologies; faster transmission of data results in the ability of buyers to immediately react to inventory and pricing issues. However, given that technology investments can exceed millions of dollars, and that many retailers' margins and inventory productivity have been eroding over the last ten years, the stakes for information technology decisions have grown exponentially, so care must be taken in making these decisions. Practical implications – This subject matter is most important for retail practitioners because it identifies areas where the performance of buyers can be improved. It is also valuable to college professors who teach retailing and buying and to their students because it provides current subject matter that should be incorporated into classes. Originality/value – This paper identified the most current technologies being used by buyers in a variety of stores to improve their performance. In addition, this paper identified the future trends in technology adopted by innovative retailers.