BEAVERTON, Ore., March 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Digimarc Corporation (NASDAQ: DMRC) and Planet Retail announced key findings in a new retail report titled: "Harnessing the Power of Digital Transformation - The Ultimate Retail IT Therapy." The report is based on results from a survey of retail executives and is now available for download. A webinar is scheduled for April 26 at 7 a.m. PST to discuss the results and offer insights. Registration is available to all and is now open.

In response to ever-expanding omni-channel options for consumers, the survey found retailers are applying new technologies and innovations that streamline the supply chain, create new efficiencies and improve the customer experience. The data shows that retailers are modernizing their operations to reclaim a role in the omni-channel conversation, and to better engage with today's evolving shoppers. Executives indicated they are not only retiring obsolete systems, but also investing in powerful technologies to give consumers more choice, control and a better overall shopping experience.

Retailers identified improving customer experiences in-store as a top priority for 2017. Checkout was top-of-mind, with nearly two-thirds of retail respondents believing a fast checkout experience, whether self-checkout or attended checkout, is essential for promoting customer loyalty. Barcode solutions ranked second when it came to IT investment, behind customer and supplier relationship management solutions.

"Ninety percent of all sales are still completed in a physical store," said Miya Knights, global retail technology director, Planet Retail. "As a showroom, fulfillment hub and center for service excellence, the physical store still reigns supreme when it comes to delivering truly instant retail therapy. The fact that the in-store customer experience topped our poll suggests retailers are starting to capitalize on this. The report also outlines the concerns retailers have and their priorities for engaging in digital transformation and omni-channel marketing."

Planet Retail conducted the survey in late 2016 to better understand the evolving needs of retailers and their perceptions of the role of technology in satisfying those needs. The results reflect more than 350 responses gathered from senior decision-makers across the US, UK, Germany and Japan.

"The results of the new Planet Retail survey add credence to our belief that new technologies play a critical and growing role in improving customer engagement, store efficiency, and supply chain effectiveness," said Heidi Dethloff, vice president for marketing, Digimarc. "The imperceptible Digimarc Barcode is a key piece of this new retail technology landscape, enabling the connected package through a persistent network identity giving retailers and brands greater insights and business benefits across the package journey."

About Digimarc
Digimarc Corporation (NASDAQ: DMRC), based in Beaverton, Oregon, is the inventor of Digimarc Discover® software and the imperceptible Digimarc Barcode for automatically identifying and interacting with virtually any media. Digimarc Discover software enables industrial scanners, smartphones, tablets and other computer interfaces to reliably, efficiently and economically identify traditional barcoded items, along with many other media objects. Digimarc Barcodes are imperceptible to people and do all that visible barcodes do, but perform better. These remarkable capabilities have allowed Digimarc and its business partners to supply a wide range of patented consumer engagement, media management and security solutions across multiple consumer and government industry sectors. Digimarc owns an extensive intellectual property portfolio, with patents in digital watermarking, content identification and management, media object discovery, and intuitive computing more generally. For more information and the latest news, please visit www.digimarc.com and follow on Twitter at @Digimarc.

About Planet Retail
Planet Retail and Retail Net Group (RNG) are trusted providers of future-focused retail and consumer intelligence, analytics and executive education. Through our team of experts we offer a truly global set of services in retail and consumer intelligence, forecasting and analytics, consulting and executive services across the retail, FMCG, professional services and technology sectors. The businesses deliver deep local market knowledge and global reach and scale from their offices in London, Boston, Frankfurt, Mumbai and Hong Kong. planetretail.net | retailnetgroup.com. Planet Retail and Retail Net Group are powered by Top Right Group, formerly known as Emap, which transforms knowledge businesses to deliver exceptional performance. topright-group.com 

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SOURCE Digimarc Corporation