The 5G Gap

Only 23% of retailers have 5G at the store level up to date in 2026. The rest are running modern AI workloads, electronic shelf labels, computer vision, and mobile POS on infrastructure designed for a handful of terminals and a back-office PC. The financial results follow directly from that decision. We start with an economic update, then dive into the topic with Dee Dee Paré, Senior Product Marketing Manager at Ericsson.---Timestamps*

[00:02:00] — Consumer Spending: Strong but Fracturing**[00:03:30] — The GLP-1 Effect and Discretionary Surge**[00:04:00] — Income Bifurcation Is the Real Story**[00:05:00] — Earnings Growth Is Outpacing Sales Growth*

[00:07:30] — The Numbers Behind the 5G Dividend

[00:09:00] — 5G as AI Infrastructure, Not Just Networking[00:10:30] — The Winner's Profile: Sales Winners vs. The Field

[00:11:00] — Seven Signals Your Store Network Is About to Break

[00:13:00] — Ericsson Enterprise Wireless**

[00:16:30] — Deployment Flexibility: Where Cellular Wins**[00:19:30] — 5G Standalone: Where the Real Innovation Begins*

[00:20:00] — Network Slicing: MPLS Predictability Over Wireless**

[00:22:00] — Dual SIM, Dual Standby and eSIM Intelligence**

[00:24:00] — LEO Satellite Integration*

[00:27:00] — 5G RedCap, Release 17/18, and 5G Advanced**[00:29:30] — Agentic AI Built Into NetCloud**

[00:30:00] — The Winner's Signature: Full Financial Benchmark**

[00:32:00] — The 2018 Amazon Moment That Changed Everything**

[00:35:00] — Network as the Retail Foundation*

[00:36:00] — BOPIS: The Clearest Differentiator*

[00:38:00] — Retail Media Networks and C-Store Consolidation**

[00:39:00] — The Four-Phase Framework*#RetailTechnology #5G #RetailAI

Learn more at https://www.ihlservices.com/news/analyst-corner/2026/06/ondemand-the-5g-gap/