New Research Study – Retail IT Spend +3.9% in 2010.

For the 7th year in a row, IHL and RIS News have teamed together to produce the most in-depth and detailed study on Store Systems and other technologies such as mobile, CRM, WFM, and Cross Channel technologies.

The study comes with the raw data, but includes over 108 charts where we break down the data by retailer size and a segment.  For instance, how are increased maintenance fees for POS and other store systems affecting interest in companies like Oracle and SAP for POS Software.  Or which vendors have the greatest mindshare going into 2010?  Is there a difference in fees paid by segment?  Which mobile or security technologies are getting deployed this year?  It’s all here and a must read if you are a vendor selling any of these technologies or if you are a retailer looking to make a purchase this year.

For more information and to see the report summary for purchase, click

Microsoft Brings Star Style to NRF Show

by Cate T. Corcoran
Posted Friday January 08, 2010
From WWD Issue 01/08/2010

Microsoft hopes to interest retailers in its software and services by promoting its Star Style retail concept next week at the National Retail Federation trade show and conference in New York.  Introduced...read more on wwd.com

[some quotes]

Microsoft’s retail group now focuses on digital marketing and e-commerce, business insight and store systems such as point of sale, said Paula Paravecchio, the software giant’s market development director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

• The company has updated its vision of advanced retailing to include video, mobile and social networking.

At the Star Style launch at a film festival in Italy, Microsoft showed videos from Louis Vuitton, Ferragamo, Chanel and Dior on the wall and on its tabletop touch-screen computer called Microsoft Surface. The Vuitton video is an updated riff on the famous Guy de Maupassant story about a diamond necklace, instead focusing on a Vuitton bag.

full article on wwd.com