Companies view retail demand intelligence (RDI) as their most pressing technological investment, it has been claimed, which could show the need for IT outsourcing.

Research conducted by IT industry analyst IDC found that companies are increasingly deploying RDI alongside retail planning systems, customer selling platforms and supply chain applications.

According to the group, the current retail environment, which has seen consumers become more exacting, has led to the need for businesses to become more transparent and deliver higher levels of customer service.

It also claimed that RDI allows retailers to adapt to shifting demand trends as they occur, which may interest IT outsourcing users.

Leslie Hand, research director at IDC Retail Insights, commented: “Technology, in the form of integrated planning applications, is now available that can help retailers improve top-line and bottom-line results.”

Last week, Mike Dean, a spokesperson for the National Computing Centre, said firms will soon need to make decisions about their long-term IT strategies, after many cut spending because of the recession.