The retail industry continues to be a hotbed of innovation, with activity driven by efficiency and consumer desire for convenience, and the growing importance of technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and robotics. In the last three years alone, there have been over 133,000 patents filed and granted in the retail industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Artificial Intelligence: e-commerce robotic process automation. Buy the report here.
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However, not all innovations are equal and nor do they follow a constant upward trend. Instead, their evolution takes the form of an S-shaped curve that reflects their typical lifecycle from early emergence to accelerating adoption, before finally stabilising and reaching maturity.
Identifying where a particular innovation is on this journey, especially those that are in the emerging and accelerating stages, is essential for understanding their current level of adoption and the likely future trajectory and impact they will have.
70+ innovations will shape the retail industry
According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which plots the S-curve for the retail industry using innovation intensity models built on over 128,000 patents, there are 70+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.
Within the emerging innovation stage, autonomous vending, skin care recommender systems, and AI-assisted surveillance are disruptive technologies that are in the early stages of application and should be tracked closely. Autonomous delivery vehicle navigation system, autonomous delivery management, and planogram modelling are some of the accelerating innovation areas, where adoption has been steadily increasing. Among maturing innovation areas are virtual contact centre automation and checkout object identification, which are now well established in the industry.
Innovation S-curve for artificial intelligence in the retail industry
e-commerce robotic process automation is a key innovation area in artificial intelligence
Robotic process automation (RPA) can help e-commerce companies by automating time-consuming, routine, and rule-based tasks. The addition of artificial intelligence and machine learning to automation processes can enable decision-making as a part of automation.
GlobalData’s analysis also uncovers the companies at the forefront of each innovation area and assesses the potential reach and impact of their patenting activity across different applications and geographies. According to GlobalData, there are 10+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established retail companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of e-commerce robotic process automation.
Key players in e-commerce robotic process automation – a disruptive innovation in the retail industry
‘Application diversity’ measures the number of different applications identified for each relevant patent and broadly splits companies into either ‘niche’ or ‘diversified’ innovators.
‘Geographic reach’ refers to the number of different countries each relevant patent is registered in and reflects the breadth of geographic application intended, ranging from ‘global’ to ‘local’.
Patent volumes related to e-commerce robotic process automation
| Company | Total patents (2021 - 2023) | Premium intelligence on the world's largest companies |
| Headwater Research | 211 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Headwater Partners I | 183 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Broadcom | 83 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Endurance International Group Holdings | 46 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Illumio | 39 | Unlock Company Profile |
| E. Merck | 20 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Alphabet | 19 | Unlock Company Profile |
| INVIDI Technologies | 16 | Unlock Company Profile |
| TransUnion | 13 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Avaya Holdings | 10 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Verizon Patent And Licensing | 7 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Ot Ip Sub | 7 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Gogo | 6 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Amdocs | 6 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Computer Associates International | 6 | Unlock Company Profile |
| International Business Machines | 5 | Unlock Company Profile |
| Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson | 5 | Unlock Company Profile |
Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics
Leading players in the artificial intelligence-based robotic process automation space in terms of patents filed are Headwater Research, Headwater Partners I, Broadcom, Endurance International Group Holdings, and Illumio. Broadcom acquired HostBridge Technology to expedite Mainframe modernisation and application integration. With the help of this acquisition, Broadcom aims to offer its clients solutions that enable the creation of API and its orchestration on the Mainframe. API-enabling applications enable several innovations including robotic process automation with a bot-driven process.
Leading players in this space in terms of application diversity include INVIDI Technologies, Amdocs, E. Merck, and Headwater Research.
By means of geographic reach Headwater Partners I, Illumio, E. Merck, and INVIDI Technologies lead the space.
To further understand the key themes and technologies disrupting the retail industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Artificial Intelligence in Retail.
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GlobalData, the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article.
GlobalData’s Patent Analytics tracks patent filings and grants from official offices around the world. Textual analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries.
