March 2023, IDC #US48621522e

IDC MarketScape

IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Point-of-Sale Software for Large Apparel and Softlines Retail 2023 Vendor Assessment

Margot Juros

THIS IDC MARKETSCAPE EXCERPT FEATURES ORACLE

IDC MARKETSCAPE FIGURE

FIGURE 1

IDC MarketScape Worldwide Point-of-Sale Software for Large Apparel and Softlines

Retail Vendor Assessment

Source: IDC, 2022

Please see the Appendix for detailed methodology, market definition, and scoring criteria.

©2023 IDC #US48621522e 2

IN THIS EXCERPT

The content for this excerpt was taken directly from IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Point-of-Sale

Software for Large Apparel and Softlines Retail Vendor Assessment (Doc # US48621522). All or parts

of the following sections are included in this excerpt: IDC Opinion, IDC MarketScape Vendor Inclusion

Criteria, Essential Guidance, Vendor Summary Profile, Appendix and Learn More. Also included is

Figure 1.

IDC OPINION

The past few years have introduced a world of change in shopper expectations. Consumers now

expect seamless, frictionless omni-channel commerce with the ability to shop from anywhere and pick

up or ship products in any way they wish, as well as new demands for contactless and alternative

methods of payment. Apparel retailers need a point-of-sale (POS) software solution that enables them

to support new expectations while, at the same time, aid in achieving critical business goals of driving

revenue and enhancing personalization for better customer engagement and experience, which can

distinguish their brand and drive customer loyalty.

To achieve these objectives, apparel retailers need to leverage technology that can address some of

the complexities of today's apparel segment. POS software providers that emerged as leaders in this

space are addressing some of the unique needs in apparel including endless aisles, mixed-channel

carts, clienteling, and mobile POS, as well as self-checkout, which is of new interest in apparel. In

addition, frictionless payments have become a real differentiator for customers, with shoppers citing

contactless payments as the number 1 feature to improve their in-store shopping experience (see

Consumer Sentiment Survey, 2022: Findings and Implications, IDC #US49621522, August 2022). At the same time, with the spotlight on enhancing customer personalization and engagement, retailers

need omni-channel solutions that prioritize integrating data from across retail operations and

customers. Ideally, these solutions will enable a single point of truth with trusted, up-to-date data

stored in a specific location that is easily available for drawing keen insights and recommendations.

Amid this period of rapidly changing expectations and business conditions, retailers of all sizes have

realized the importance of digital capabilities and strategies to be more agile and able to pivot on a

dime as things change. As such, POS solutions can be both enabler and partner to apparel retailers in

achieving rapid innovation and agility. With regard to large retailers in particular, there is a more

pressing need for POS offerings enabled for multiple countries (the more the better) that take into

account localized preferences as well as compliance and regulations. In addition, apparel retailers are

increasingly seeking offline resiliency capabilities from POS providers so transactions can continue

even when the store is down.

With the pace of change in the current environment, retailers are looking for technology partners that

offer out-of-the box solutions as well as the ability to seamlessly integrate to other solutions, facilitating

extensibility and giving apparel retailers ability to create their own distinguishing brand experiences for

their customers. In addition, it's important for retailers that vendor partners participate in wide

ecosystems of services and solutions for expanded opportunities to innovate. Taking all these factors,

this IDC MarketScape identifies the following as key trends and differentiators for POS providers:

▪ Omni-channel capabilities of POS software vendors including mobile POS, mixed carts, self-

service/kiosks, next-level clienteling, fulfillment options, and endless aisle are in high demand

and essential for both customer experience and efficiency. POS providers must address not

only the omni-channel needs of today but have a strong strategy for powering the omni-

channel needs of tomorrow while democratizing the data that comes from each customer

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touch point, eliminating silos. A key differentiator among vendors in this IDC MarketScape is

the ability to provide real-time, actionable data insights to help retailers make impactful

changes at the store level.

▪ Growth in mobile POS offerings from POS vendors not only supports line-busting and store

efficiency but also in the area of increasing importance of apparel, giving associates the \ability

to engage and transact with customers on the store floor, including giving product information,

personalized suggestions to increase basket, fulfillment options, and checking out directly with

the mobile device.

▪ Payments choices and options have grown in importance for shoppers, pushing POS software

vendors to offer new payments initiatives and partnerships to widen the range of payment

choices available (including locally preferred payment methods and alternative options, such

as QR codes or crypto) as well as enhancing ability to provide buy now, pay later (BNPL)

options.

▪ Movement to a unified commerce platform approach with data integration across operations

ensures consistent customer experience across all channels and offers retailers greater

scalability and flexibility to add new features. While vendors are moving toward this platform

approach, IDC notes divergent approaches in a few areas including payments acceptance,

ease of updates for POS software, and data integration strategies.

▪ A drive to cloud-first, API-first POS platforms will help retailers mix and match modules

needed, allow for ease of scaling and updates and extensibility, and give retailers the ability to

distinguish their brands better.

▪ There is new emphasis on innovation to keep up with rapidly evolving needs/demands of

shoppers and infusing solutions with advanced technology including predictive artificial

intelligence (AI)/machine learning (ML), advanced analytics, store virtualization, endless

aisles, omni-channel clienteling, and cashierless technologies.

▪ Supporting global reach is particularly important to large retailers with stores in multiple

countries (or looking to expand to new countries) due to challenges with different regulations,

preferred payment methods, and compliance requirements. Global abilities are a new

differentiation point for POS vendors offering numerous country packs, with a commitment to

extend further, as well as extensive local partnerships.

IDC MARKETSCAPE VENDOR INCLUSION CRITERIA

To be included in this study, IDC stipulated that a vendor should meet the following criteria:

▪ Has an established reputation offering POS software solutions in the apparel/soft goods

segment of the retail industry, with significant revenue from this segment and specific features

and functions necessary in apparel/soft goods POS

▪ Offers an enterprise-ready omni-channel POS software solution providing advanced omni-

channel point-of-sale functions and capabilities (cannot just be for ecommerce) (As POS

software vendor landscape is very large and fragmented, this research has focused on the

POS software vendors perceived to have more significant market presence and impact or to

have quickly emerging market presence.)

▪ Has worldwide presence, with significant presence in at least two of the following regions:

North America, South America, Asia/Pacific (AP), Europe, and the Middle East and Africa

(MEA)

Please note that this document is one of the two complementary documents in which IDC Retail

Insights addresses POS software in apparel and softlines retail. The other document is IDC

©2023 IDC #US48621522e 4

MarketScape: Worldwide Point-of-Sale Software in Midsized Apparel and Softlines Retail 2023 Vendor

Assessment (IDC #US48079822, March 2023). Readers are encouraged to read both documents in

the series to gain a fuller view of the landscape of omni-channel POS software vendors for apparel

retailers.

The POS software vendors have been segmented into each of these documents in alignment with

where the vendors indicated their "sweet spot" target is and retail tiers where more of their deals of

occurred. "Large" denotes POS software vendors with more revenue from tier 1 retailers, and

"midsize" denotes vendors with more revenue coming from below tier 1 retailers. The vendors included

in and evaluated in the POS software for midsize retailers are Celerant Technology, Jesta I.S., LS

Retail, Mi9 Retail, Microsoft, NewStore, OneView Commerce, Veras Retail, and Zucchetti.

But it is important to note that most of these POS vendors in each of the two documents are

responding to opportunities in multiple retail tiers and that they could be competing with other vendors

in each report for apparel/softlines opportunities. The research has been segmented into large and

midsize to enhance the assessment and not to assess vendor scalability for prequalification or

disqualification for specific opportunities.

ADVICE FOR TECHNOLOGY BUYERS

▪ Build a strong foundation: Seek a technology partner that understands key objectives and will

help align technology goals with appropriate key performance indicators. The vendor's offered

solutions should not only address issues of today but offer flexibility to adapt to changing

market conditions or customer demands. Discuss their vision to "future proof" the solution. In

addition, consider the POS vendor's ability to allow for seamless offline resiliency that allows

transactions to keep flowing without any blips.

▪ Prioritize scalability and extensibility: In these rapidly evolving times, ensure that a POS

software vendor's solution demonstrates the ability to easily scale, as well as enabling

extensibility, prioritizing easy integrations to functions in other parts of the suite/platform or

third-party applications, and allowing the retailers to build in their own "secret sauce" to

distinguish their brand. Ask your vendor to discuss the update process and frequency and how

it is using technologies, such as edge virtualization, to make software updates easier and

more seamless.

▪ Strategize innovation: Select a vendor with an innovation-rich road map (particularly in areas

of AI, analytics, mobile, computer vision, and IoT capabilities) and a consistent track record of

successful future-ready pilots. Ensure that future-ready innovations will be applied to critical

areas including endless aisles, mixed carts, self-service, loss prevention, mobile POS, and

new selling experiences and fulfillment options that are available for rollout or will be soon.

▪ Put data at the forefront: In omni-channel POS platforms, data integration is paramount. Ask

your vendor to demonstrate how its POS software solution offers a secure real-time single

point of truth of the customer across all channels including customer data/preferences,

shopping cart, promotions/loyalty, and inventory/fulfillment. Also discuss how the data can be

harnessed for insights to enhance customer engagement and grow sales.

▪ Future proof payments: Review the vendor's payment module to consider how it is integrated

within the POS platform and whether it can use the vendor's payment gateway and offers an

option to integrate to third-party payment gateways. In addition, ensure the POS vendor can

enable a wide range of payment methods, including new contactless payment types and

favored local/regional payment types for global retailers, as well as BNPL.

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▪ Consider global footprint: Ensure that a POS software vendor can deploy its solutions in many

countries as well as having set plans to expand to additional markets, allowing your brand the

ability to expand geographically if desired and reducing the need to have to employ multiple

different POS systems in various countries.

VENDOR SUMMARY PROFILES

This section briefly explains IDC's key observations resulting in a vendor's position in the IDC

MarketScape. While every vendor is evaluated against each of the criteria outlined in the Appendix,

the description here provides a summary of each vendor's strengths and challenges.

Oracle

Oracle is positioned in the Leaders category in this 2023 IDC MarketScape for worldwide point-of-sale

software for large apparel and softlines retail.

Oracle is a United States–based software, hardware, and services provider, with headquarters in

Austin, Texas. Founded in 1977, the company has more than 170,000 employees and 430,000

customers worldwide in more than 175 countries. The Oracle Retail Xstore Point of Service, the

company's flagship POS solution, is targeted to tiers 1, 2, and 3 retailers. With a significant global

footprint, Xstore is live in production in 94 countries and offers 13 languages available right out of the

box. Xstore serves many retail subsegments including hardlines and specialty, but its biggest segment

is apparel/softlines. Oracle brings to Xstore its existing strong base of R&D and technical resources as

well as its deep and rich ecosystem of systems integrators and partners.

Oracle's core mission with Xstore is to enable retailers to be agile and enable experimentation with its

extensible, flexible platform with low-code tools, allowing retailers to innovate for their brand by mixing

and matching from Oracle applications and adding in their own "secret sauce." The open architecture

platform is designed to allow retailers keep their base code with the ability to add their own core

extensions with the Xstore Extension Framework to differentiate themselves from competitors. In

addition, the solution is built with a separation of core code from customizations, meaning that none of

the customers' extensions are overwritten, so retailers can stay on the upgrade path.

Xstore offers the full range of omni-channel features and functions needed to compete effectively in

today's retail environment. The solution offers full mobility options as well as flexible deployment

models from traditional to mobile to headless to hybrid. Xstore allows retailers to enable a full mobile

store with all of the functions, including cash management, security, inventory management, and

reporting. Without the need to be tied to the physical store, mobile store can enable new models such

as remote selling, pop-up stores, and dark stores for micro-fulfillment. Other omni-channel capabilities

include endless aisle, assisted selling, and "save the sale" and range fulfillment options such as

BOPIS and ship from store. As interest rises in self-checkout options in the apparel/softlines segment,

the Xstore platform enables self-checkout and the flexibility to switch POS from staffed till to self-

checkout as needed. In addition, the solution enables apparel-specific features such as

style/color/size, item images, wish lists, repairs, and alterations. Digital and physical clienteling

features, including customer wish list, sizes, contact preferences, and loyalty rewards, can drive

customer engagement and personalization. Xstore also offers integrations to additional micro-

applications such as rental services or resell applications.

Oracle's commitment to innovation has yielded many features that can help retailers be unique from

the market. One such innovative feature is the ability to capture non-transactional data flows in POS,

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giving retailers data to better engage with omni-channel customers and personalize the experience for

shoppers. For example, a retailer may gather data from the fitting rooms/magic mirrors that allows

them to identify items that go into fitting rooms frequently but that are rarely purchased — possibly

indicating a fit problem for the item. The Oracle Retail Data Store is a new Oracle offering that helps

retailers take control of and harness their data across all operations to derive insights, including data

from sales, inventory, pricing, promotions, suppliers, consumers and channels, and more. Highlighting

its commitment to payments innovation, Oracle, with its partnership with Adyen, allows Xstore to

support pay by link, allowing shoppers to pay for transactions remotely (such as if a customer wants to

order from an associate by phone) and enabling a wide range of alternative payment types. Another

area is enhanced POS device setup, which allows a retailer to take one POS device that is already set

up for a store and then generate a QR code that when scanned can set up other new devices to the

store's specifications. On the road map are multiple enhancements including integration to Oracle's

new promotion engine, simplified update process, and expanded use of containers.

Strengths

▪ Deep commitment to innovation and customers and long retail experience combined with

Oracle's deep technology expertise makes Xstore a strong choice for omni-channel retailers

looking for a complete POS solution that is future ready and can enable differentiation from

competitors.

▪ A benefit of being part of Oracle's deep global reach, Xstore is an excellent choice for retailers

seeking a solution with a wide global footprint and local support and expertise, especially

knowing that Xstore is already live with retailers in 94 countries.

Challenges

▪ While Oracle's Xstore is designed to fully meet the needs of modern omni-channel retailing, so

have other very focused and nimble competitors, particularly those playing strongly in geos

outside of the United States. Oracle will need to focus its efforts on distinguishing itself from

these competitors across markets.

▪ Oracle's Xstore may be out of reach from a pricing perspective for some lower tier retailers,

and the vendor may not be able to match the pricing flexibility of some competitors.

APPENDIX

Reading an IDC MarketScape Graph

For the purposes of this analysis, IDC divided potential key measures for success into two primary

categories: capabilities and strategies.

Positioning on the y-axis reflects the vendor's current capabilities and menu of services and how well

aligned the vendor is to customer needs. The capabilities category focuses on the capabilities of the

company and product today, here and now. Under this category, IDC analysts will look at how well a

vendor is building/delivering capabilities that enable it to execute its chosen strategy in the market.

Positioning on the x-axis, or strategies axis, indicates how well the vendor's future strategy aligns with

what customers will require in three to five years. The strategies category focuses on high-level

decisions and underlying assumptions about offerings, customer segments, and business and go-to-

market plans for the next three to five years.

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The size of the individual vendor markers in the IDC MarketScape represents the market share of each

individual vendor within the specific market segment being assessed.

IDC MarketScape Methodology

IDC MarketScape criteria selection, weightings, and vendor scores represent well-researched IDC

judgment about the market and specific vendors. IDC analysts tailor the range of standard

characteristics by which vendors are measured through structured discussions, surveys, and

interviews with market leaders, participants, and end users. Market weightings are based on user

interviews, buyer surveys, and the input of IDC experts in each market. IDC analysts base individual

vendor scores, and ultimately vendor positions on the IDC MarketScape, on detailed surveys and

interviews with the vendors, publicly available information, and end-user experiences in an effort to

provide an accurate and consistent assessment of each vendor's characteristics, behavior, and

capability.

Market Definition

This IDC study represents an assessment of worldwide point-of-sale (POS) software vendors in

apparel and softlines retail. This research is a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the features,

functionalities, and strategic road maps that explain the success of the major point-of-sale software

providers in the apparel and softlines segment, with a particular focus on omni-channel features and

capabilities relevant to this subsector. POS software is related to the management of transactions and

sales in retail, including sales reporting, sales indicators, credit system reporting, and cash accounting.

This study evaluates the omni-channel commerce strategies and capabilities of the POS software

vendors in the apparel and softlines retail sector. Given the fragmentation of the POS solution market,

this study has had to focus on the most prominent POS solution vendors in the market: vendors with

established/significant market presence addressing omni-channel commerce with enterprise-grade

POS solutions or ones that are emerging very quickly.

LEARN MORE

Related Research

▪ IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Point-of-Sale Software in Midsize Apparel and Softlines Retail

2023 Vendor Assessment (IDC #US48079822, March 2023)

▪ IDC PeerScape: Point-of-Sale Practices to Address Evolving Shopper Expectations (IDC

#US47252221, December 2022)

▪ Retail Data Crossroads — Why Data Management Strategy Has Never Been More Important in

Retail (IDC #US49334222, December 2022)

▪ IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Retail 2023 Predictions (IDC #US48655022, October 2022)

▪ IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Payment Strategies 2023 Predictions (IDC #US49544323,

October 2022)

▪ Will Consumers Really Shop Elsewhere If Payment Choice Options Are Limited? (IDC

#US49690022, September 2022)

▪ Consumer Sentiment Survey, 2022: Findings and Implications (IDC #US49621522, August

2022)

©2023 IDC #US48621522e 8

Synopsis

This IDC MarketScape assesses the capabilities and strategies of enterprise POS software solution

providers that have a significant presence in the large apparel/softlines retail segment. A key

component of the evaluation is how IT buyers perceive the benefits of the POS software in meeting the

quickly evolving needs of apparel retail as well as the providers' strategy and commitment to

innovation to enable retailers' ongoing omni-channel success.

"The rapidly changing macroeconomic conditions as well as new shopper expectations for frictionless,

engaging experiences means that POS providers must address not only the omni-channel needs of

today but have a strong strategy for powering the omni-channel needs of tomorrow with the rapid

innovation," says Margot Juros, research manager, Worldwide Retail Technology Strategies at IDC.

"Successful players need to enable seamless omni-channel shopping with features, such as mobile

POS, self-service/kiosks, and mixed carts, that allow consumers to shop anywhere and any way they

want."

About IDC

International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory

services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications and consumer technology

markets. IDC helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community make fact-

based decisions on technology purchases and business strategy. More than 1,100 IDC analysts

provide global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in

over 110 countries worldwide. For 50 years, IDC has provided strategic insights to help our clients

achieve their key business objectives. IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world's leading technology

media, research, and events company.

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