Technology Issues Thwart Small Retailers
From high costs to a rapidly changing environment, small retailers have a host of technology challenges ahead, said a business owner speaking before a House committee on behalf of the National Retail Federation earlier this month.
Per Hughe-Jensen, owner of the Bowhe and Peare Gift Shop in Alexandria, Va., testified before the House Small Business Committee’s Subcommittee on Rural Enterprises, Agriculture and Technology during a recent hearing on small-business access to technology.
Hughe-Jensen said small retailers need computer systems to track sales, inventory, turnover and purchases but that rapid advances in computer technology make retailers reluctant to invest heavily in equipment or software that may quickly turn obsolete.
Instead, small retailers should outsource a computing services program customized to their needs, allowing them to save costs and concentrate on their business rather than on technology issues, he said. —Nola Sarkisian-Miller
