Despite the growth of ecommerce, social distancing, high-street closures and a cost-of-living crisis, brick-and-mortar retail remains a major part of the global economy. There were $30.57 trillion USD retail sales worldwide in 2024, with 420 million people employed in the sector. That doesn’t mean that conditions are easy: as well as general economic malaise, cybersecurity threats are increasing and supply chain disruptions are escalating. Even natural disasters are increasing, leading to the $2.915 trillion in damage from natural causes in the U.S. alone.
In these times, seamless operations are essential for maintaining a competitive edge, and at the heart of this is secure, reliable connectivity. Retail businesses are no longer self-enclosed entities where everything revolves around a checkout and some inventory management software. A strong network infrastructure supports everything from payment processing and inventory management to customer engagement and security, ensuring business continuity and long-term growth.
Key Retail Challenges
Supply chain disruptions have created significant hurdles for retailers, affecting inventory availability and consumer demand. These disruptions, often caused by geopolitical factors, economic fluctuations and logistical constraints, make efficient inventory management critical. Connectivity plays a vital role in real-time stock tracking and demand forecasting, helping businesses adapt quickly to supply chain uncertainties.
Beyond supply chain disruptions, network outages — whether due to internet failures, power disruptions or IT system breakdowns — can bring retail operations to a standstill. A clear example of this occurred when Morrisons, a major UK supermarket chain, suffered a severe IT outage that left customers stranded at checkouts. The outage led to long queues, payment failures and a widespread inability to process transactions, forcing some stores to accept cash only. Employees struggled to manage the disruptions, and customers expressed frustration on social media, further damaging the retailer’s reputation.
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Similarly, Kroger Pharmacy in the U.S. faced a major network failure that disrupted its prescription processing system. The outage left customers unable to fill vital prescriptions, causing distress and operational chaos. Pharmacies struggled to find workarounds, and many customers were left waiting for essential medications, highlighting the vulnerabilities of an interconnected retail system dependent on secure, stable networks.
Customer demands also have evolved significantly, with online shopping, curbside pickup and seamless omnichannel experiences becoming the norm. Consumers now expect a frictionless transition between digital and physical retail spaces. Reliable connectivity helps ensure that in-store and online systems remain synchronized, allowing for real-time inventory visibility, accurate stock availability and personalized promotions based on purchase history and preferences. Faster, secure payment transactions also reduce checkout friction, which can help improve the overall shopping experience.
Technological advancements are further shaping the future of retail, with innovations such as augmented reality, virtual reality and holographic displays redefining shopping experiences. As these trends continue to expand, leading brands like Nike and Adidas are investing in virtual retail spaces, allowing customers to browse and purchase items in fully digital environments. Some retailers also are incorporating holographic assistants and interactive displays to enhance in-store engagement. However, these innovations depend on reliable, high-speed connectivity to function seamlessly, helping to provide a smooth and immersive experience for customers.
The Critical Role of Connectivity
Ensuring operational resilience in retail requires a strong network infrastructure that supports critical systems. Point-of-sale systems, inventory management and back office operations all rely on high-speed, stable connectivity, and multi-access broadband can be the answer here. Having a single point of connection between a business and the greater network is of course a liability, so having a connectivity solution dynamically leveraging multi-carrier connections allows businesses to connect even when one or more carriers is down.
An uninterrupted network minimizes downtime, maximizes revenue and enhances operational efficiency. Without a secure, resilient network with multiple redundancies, retailers may risk revenue losses, customer dissatisfaction and reputational damage caused by outages and system failures.
Cybersecurity threats targeting the retail sector are on the rise, with attackers exploiting vulnerabilities in payment systems and customer databases. A secure network infrastructure is essential for protecting sensitive customer data, ensuring encrypted payment processing and safeguarding operational systems from ransomware and malware attacks.
However, one of the greatest challenges retailers face is convincing IT leadership to grant third-party providers access to their data centers and infrastructure. To address these concerns, retailers must work with connectivity providers that offer transparent security protocols, robust encryption and regulatory compliance to maintain data integrity.
Connectivity that is application-centric also plays a crucial role in optimizing customer experiences. Seamless in-store WiFi enhances engagement by enabling mobile checkouts and interactive displays, while real-time data analytics help retailers adjust marketing strategies and optimize store layouts based on consumer behavior. A well-connected retail environment allows businesses to deliver personalized loyalty programs and improve the overall shopping experience, fostering long-term customer loyalty.
Primarily, a company’s connectivity needs to be a unified solution, managed by a single provider as far as possible. One fully managed solution might seem like a liability, but modern digital infrastructure providers are laser-focused on resilience, and most, if not all, will be able to stand up to whatever the world throws at them. End-to-end networking, in which the security, networking, connectivity and other critical systems all are handled by a single vendor, reduces complexity, so if anything should go wrong the solution is a single phone call away.
Why Retailers Need to Pay Attention to Connectivity
In today’s retail environment, secure, reliable connectivity is not just a convenience, it is mission critical. As retailers embrace digital transformation, a future-ready network infrastructure is essential for overcoming supply chain challenges, meeting customer expectations and leveraging emerging technologies. To stay ahead, retailers must prioritize connectivity solutions that simplify, secure and enhance their operations, allowing them to focus on what matters most — delivering exceptional customer experiences and driving sustainable growth.
John Tait is Transaction Network Services’ (TNS) Global Managing Director for its Payments Market business. TNS is a global leader in providing full-stack, modern and secure payment and network solutions. As a leading provider of Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) solutions with more than 30 years’ experience, TNS has been offering managed service solutions to more than 1,400 organizations in over 50 countries. TNS’ comprehensive portfolio spans from cutting-edge unattended and in-store payment terminals, online solutions to secure global network connectivity and seamless payment processing through its cloud native payment orchestration platform. To learn more, visit: https://tnsi.com/solutions/payments/connect/retail-site-connectivity/
