Retailers have made their bet. Despite e-commerce growth and economic turbulence, they are doubling down on physical stores as their main growth engine. But there’s a problem—most of them are playing that hand with outdated tools. According to new research from Retail Systems Research (RSR), sponsored by Jumpmind, 85% of retailers say stores are still their primary growth channel, yet 65% admit their store tech stack can’t support the customer experience they’re trying to deliver.
That’s not just a retail tech gap—it’s a strategic fault line.
Experience Expectations Are Outpacing Infrastructure
RSR’s data paints a picture of retailers caught in a dangerous contradiction. Most (62%) say customers are demanding store experiences they simply can’t provide. And while most retailers remain committed to in-store growth, their tech stacks—especially their POS systems—are often the thing holding them back. 
It’s not just that current systems are old or inefficient. It’s that they’re failing at the fundamentals. Fewer than half of the retailers surveyed said their POS systems support basic experience enhancers like seamless checkout, endless aisle access, loyalty program integration, and easy returns. In fact, a full third say their POS actively inhibits their ability to differentiate.
For an industry that hinges on differentiation, that’s a red flag.
POS as the Store’s Operating System—Not Just a Cash Register
The modern point-of-sale (POS) is no longer just about transactions. It’s the digital nervous system of the store—powering everything from associate enablement to inventory visibility to omnichannel integration. But many retailers are still treating POS like a necessary evil instead of a strategic enabler.
Retailers are discovering, too late in many cases, that legacy POS systems weren’t built to evolve. They were built to endure. And that durability now feels like dead weight as consumer expectations shift faster than a quarterly roadmap can catch up.
That gap becomes glaring when you consider that nearly half of retailers say their POS doesn’t support an “innovative or differentiated experience.” The store, in other words, is trying to compete in a new league with last season’s playbook.
Competitors Aren’t Waiting for You to Catch Up
The RSR/Jumpmind study makes it clear: the threats are not abstract.
- 41% of retailers say online competitors are eroding the perceived value of physical stores.
- 38% cite direct-to-consumer models as undermining their relevance.
- 28% are being outpaced by same-day shipping from e-commerce players.
- 36% say hyper-informed, hyper-demanding consumers are their top concern.
Put simply, shoppers are changing faster than stores are evolving—and competitors are leaning into that gap. If your tech stack can’t keep up, you’re not just underdelivering—you’re actively losing ground.
The True Cost of Outdated Tech: Lost Trust and Margin
What’s often overlooked in these tech gap conversations is the emotional cost. A broken checkout flow or an out-of-stock product is more than an operational hiccup—it’s a microbetrayal. Every friction point is an invitation for your customer to try someone else.
This is especially critical as the role of the associate evolves. Associates are no longer just cashiers or stockers—they are brand ambassadors, product consultants, and logistics facilitators. But without the right mobile tools and systems, they’re being set up to fail.
That’s why the research also finds a growing focus on associate enablement:
- 63% of retailers say mobile tools for associates are high value.
- 70% are planning investments in assisted selling and endless aisle capabilities in the next 12 to 18 months.
This suggests a recognition that store success isn’t just about “digital transformation” at a high level—it’s about enabling the people who power the experience.
Retailers Don’t Lack Capital—They Lack Confidence
One of the most interesting takeaways from the RSR report isn’t what retailers say they can’t do—but what they haven’tdone. Many cite the high cost of new technology (31%) or its rapid pace of change (54%) as reasons for their stalled transformation.
But these are perception problems, not just budget problems.
As Steve Rowen from RSR notes, “Low-cost, fully featured, consumer-grade technology is now available for far less capital investment than older store systems.” In other words: the tools exist. And the capital is there. It’s the confidence—and clarity—that’s missing.
Retailers need partners who don’t just sell software, but de-risk the entire transformation. That’s where companies like Jumpmind come in.
Jumpmind’s Play: Future-Proof, Mobile-First, Cloud-Native
Jumpmind is positioning itself not as another POS provider, but as a new kind of retail infrastructure partner—one built for speed, flexibility, and associate empowerment. Its mobile POS and cloud-native platform aim to replace the legacy systems that are stalling innovation.
The fact that Jumpmind is already powering brands like American Eagle, Petco, Build-A-Bear, and The Vitamin Shoppe suggests real traction. But more importantly, it suggests a shared mindset across those retailers: the store of the future can’t be built on the tech of the past.
Jumpmind’s advantage isn’t just technical—it’s architectural. Their platform is designed to evolve, not just deploy. That’s crucial in a retail environment where what works today may be obsolete by next quarter.
2025: The Year Retail Tech Either Catches Up—or Caves In
What this research makes clear is that 2025 won’t be a wait-and-see year. The clock is ticking, and the gap between customer expectation and retail capability is no longer tolerable.
Retailers need to:
- Reframe store tech as a growth engine, not a cost center.
- Invest in platforms that are agile, extensible, and mobile-native.
- Prioritize associate enablement as a competitive lever.
- Close the execution gap between strategy and floor operations.
- View transformation as an ongoing muscle—not a one-time project.
As Jumpmind CEO Joe Corbin put it: “Many retailers have yet to crack the code on creating relevant and inspired in-store shopping experiences—and time is running out.”
He’s right. But the code is crackable.
What’s required now is bold decision-making, not incremental updates. The good news? The retail tech exists. The better news? So does the opportunity.
For more insights on the research and its implications, retailers can access a webinar replay – Cracking the Code: Leveraging In-Store Tech for Competitive Edge.
Photo by Google DeepMind on Unsplash
