Why retail infrastructure is back in focus

by Mark White, Head of Business Development, Enterprise Sector, Telehouse Europe

 

For retailers, systems availability is business critical. When checkout systems, fulfilment platforms, or customer apps fail during peak trading periods, the consequences are immediate: lost revenue, disrupted operations, and reduced trust.

At the same time, retailers are investing in AI to improve forecasting, optimise stock levels and enhance performance. Our latest enterprise research – which surveyed UK IT decision-makers at enterprise-size organisations – shows that in retail, catering, and leisure, AI spend is still being driven by clear commercial outcomes. Improved efficiency and productivity was a top priority for 61% of respondents, with cost savings close behind at 59%. 

However, the infrastructure needed to support these gains is now exposed to a wider range of risks than many retail IT strategies were originally designed to handle. 

 

Geopolitical risk is shaping infrastructure decisions 

Retailers are no longer treating global disruption as a distant concern. In fact, 86% of respondents say geopolitical risks such as energy volatility and regional conflicts are influencing infrastructure decisions, while 93% say data sovereignty is important when choosing cloud or data centre providers. 

These pressures are not theoretical. Almost all IT decision-makers in this segment are concerned about the impact of global instability over the next year. Our research found that: 

  • 96% see energy price spikes from global conflicts as a threat to their business over the next year  
  • 89% cite cyber campaigns by hostile states as a key risk  
  • 88% point to shipping-route disruption that delays critical equipment deliveries 

For retailers, these risks have direct operational consequences, affecting ecommerce performance, stock visibility, fulfilment timelines, and customer experience. 

 

Retailers are already adjusting their infrastructure strategies 

Many organisations are responding by rethinking where and how infrastructure is deployed. Among retail, catering, and leisure respondents: 

  • 48% report a partial rebalancing toward local providers  
  • 44% say they have increased multi-region redundancy  
  • 35% report a strong shift to local providers 

 

This signals a move towards greater control and resilience. But while strategy is changing, recovery readiness doesn’t always match intent.  

If a regional incident took their primary UK AI data centre offline, 57% say it would take more than an hour to switch inference workloads to an alternative site. In a retail environment, that is a significant delay – long enough for baskets to be abandoned and service levels to take a hit.  

 

Why colocation matters 

For many retail organisations, colocation is increasingly seen as a practical solution, allowing their infrastructure to be hosted in specialist third-party data centres rather than managed entirely in-house. 

This matters because modern retail infrastructure is inherently hybrid. Ecommerce, payments, warehouse systems, data platforms, and AI services all need to connect reliably across environments. 

A highly-connected, carrier-dense colocation facility can help retailers:  

  • Support business-critical systems 
  • Connect directly to major cloud platforms and network partners  
  • Keep latency-sensitive workloads in a controlled UK environment  
  • Maintain greater control over sovereignty-sensitive data  
  • Build more realistic failover and business continuity options 

 

What retailers look for in a provider

The survey also highlights the trade-offs shaping infrastructure decisions for sovereignty-sensitive workloads. Cost remains the biggest factor when selecting a UK data centre partner for sovereignty-sensitive workloads (61%), but it sits alongside the need for control and assurance. 

  • 45% prioritise guaranteed UK ownership and governance 
  • 41% rank a 100% renewable power supply among the most important factors 

 

Building for efficiency, resilience and sovereignty 

As AI becomes more embedded across retail operations, infrastructure decisions are becoming more strategic. Retailers are not only looking for efficiency and cost gains, but also for confidence that services can continue through disruption and that sensitive data remains in the right environment. 

With pressure coming from geopolitical uncertainty, sovereignty requirements and the need for faster recovery, well-connected, sovereign colocation is becoming an increasingly practical foundation for modern retail infrastructure. 

For organisations looking to support AI growth without increasing exposure, the priority is clear: build on infrastructure that improves resilience, supports continuity, and gives greater control over where critical workloads and data reside. 

To find out how Telehouse can support your retail infrastructure strategy with resilient, well-connected colocation and connectivity services, get in touch with our team.