ICT retail spending in Europe is expected to increase at a compound average growth rate of 5% reaching €75bn by 2017, according to a report from Frost & Sullivan.

The region is expected to experience the second highest growth rate of all vertical markets, driven by the wholesale and distribution sector.

The sector spent about €59bn on ICT products and services across Europe in 2012.

Frost & Sullivan ICT research analyst Shuba Ramkumar said that implementation of M2M technologies, on wireless or wired networks promotes remote management of workloads, therebye reducing time spent on regular operational work.

"Furthermore, M2M connectivity allows data collection on various parameters which can be analysed to provide better insight into the market, and in particular customer behavior," Ramkumar added.

"One of the biggest areas for growth in M2M for retail is the associated use of data analytics to understand shopping habits of customers. Consumer data analytics may be done using data sets from different sources, to help retailers either increase sales or optimise operating expenses.

"The retail industry currently uses M2M connectivity in several vital areas to overcome operational challenges such as inventory management, in-store management and remote monitoring of mobile stores.

"With advancements in technology, development of common standards and cost reductions, retail shops will grow from using M2M connectivity for basic requirements to deriving value-added benefits from its use (for example, data analytics, personalised marketing and in-shop services facilitating customer shopping experience)."