Category Management Software Market - Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Opportunity, and Forecast, 2021-2031

The Global Category Management Software Market is projected to experience significant growth, rising from a valuation of USD 2.22 Billion in 2025 to USD 4.65 Billion by 2031, reflecting a compound annual growth rate of 13.11%. This software functions as a strategic technological framework that empowers retailers and manufacturers to manage product categories as individual business units, thereby optimizing merchandising, pricing, promotional activities, and shelf-space distribution. The market's expansion is primarily driven by the urgent need for operational efficiency and the growing necessity for data-centric decision-making to align product assortments with shifting consumer preferences. Furthermore, increasing global supply chain complexities have accelerated the demand for robust digital tools capable of centralizing procurement data and enhancing collaboration between suppliers and retailers.

However, a major obstacle to market expansion is the difficulty of integrating these sophisticated platforms with deeply rooted legacy systems, which frequently leads to data silos and prolonged implementation schedules. This technical friction poses a substantial barrier for established companies seeking to modernize their merchandising infrastructure, often stalling market penetration. According to the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply, 65% of organizations designated digital technology investment as a strategic priority in 2024, suggesting that despite these integration hurdles, the industry's dedication to adopting automated solutions remains a primary force sustaining market momentum.

Market Drivers

The rapid incorporation of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning is fundamentally reshaping the Global Category Management Software Market by automating complex analytical tasks and facilitating highly accurate consumer demand forecasting. Retailers and manufacturers are increasingly utilizing AI-powered algorithms to refine pricing strategies, planograms, and assortment planning with a level of precision that manual techniques cannot replicate.

This technological advancement directly enhances financial outcomes, prompting further adoption and the replacement of outdated systems. According to NVIDIA's 'State of AI in Retail and CPG: 2024 Trends' report from January 2024, 69% of retailers credited revenue growth to AI adoption, highlighting the tangible return on investment provided by intelligent category management tools. As these solutions advance, they enable companies to move from reactive inventory management to predictive category orchestration, establishing AI as an essential element of modern merchandising.

In parallel, the market is being propelled by a growing focus on supply chain efficiency and resilience as organizations look for software to manage volatility and minimize disruption risks. Category management platforms are adapting to offer comprehensive visibility, ensuring procurement strategies are synchronized with real-time inventory status and logistical constraints. This emphasis on operational agility is driving significant investment in digital tools that sustain strong supply networks. According to the March 2024 '2024 MHI Annual Industry Report' by MHI, 55% of supply chain leaders are boosting their spending on supply chain technology and innovation to strengthen resilience against global instabilities. This trend aligns with broader industrial priorities, as evidenced by Amazon Business in 2024, where 98% of procurement decision-makers expressed intentions to invest in analytics, automation, and AI tools, signaling enduring demand for advanced software that centralizes data and optimizes category performance.

Market Challenges

A primary hindrance to the growth of the global market is the difficulty of integrating modern category management platforms with established legacy systems. Many traditional retailers and manufacturers rely on monolithic, on-premise Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) architectures that lack the adaptability needed to synchronize smoothly with cloud-native solutions. This technical incompatibility necessitates complex and resource-heavy customization efforts, which significantly prolong implementation periods and postpone the achievement of return on investment. As a result, the friction caused by bridging these data silos discourages potential buyers concerned about operational interruptions, thereby slowing the widespread acceptance of automated merchandising tools.

This infrastructural rigidity not only raises deployment costs but also diminishes the efficacy of data-driven strategies, as fragmented systems fail to offer the real-time visibility required for optimal decision-making. This challenge is highlighted by the discrepancy between investment goals and operational readiness. While the '2024 MHI Annual Industry Report' indicates that 55% of supply chain leaders are expanding their technology investments, it also notes that structural obstacles, such as the complexity of integrating with existing infrastructure, remain significant barriers preventing organizations from fully leveraging these digital advancements. This divide between financial commitment and technical execution directly impedes the market's capacity to scale efficiently.

Market Trends

The integration of Sustainability and Environmental Impact Metrics is fundamentally reshaping category strategies, as organizations transition from purely profit-driven models to incorporating ESG compliance into their merchandising processes. Contemporary category management software is increasingly engineered to monitor carbon footprints, ethical sourcing certifications, and packaging waste throughout the product lifecycle, allowing retailers to build assortments that align with strict regulations and consumer values. This movement toward green procurement is channeling significant capital into digital tools capable of tracking Scope 3 emissions and supplier ethics. According to the 'Retail Sourcing Report: 2024 Supply Chain Sustainability Trends' by TradeBeyond in April 2024, over 80% of companies plan to boost their investment in environmental sustainability initiatives within the coming year, underscoring the industry's drive to embed ecological responsibility into category planning.

Concurrently, the emergence of Collaborative Retailer-Supplier Data Sharing Networks is superseding siloed decision-making with unified platforms for real-time joint business planning. These networks enable the transparent sharing of point-of-sale data, inventory levels, and demand forecasts, establishing a single source of truth that synchronizes the goals of trading partners and reduces the bullwhip effect. By removing informational barriers between buyers and vendors, these platforms facilitate more agile replenishment and optimized planogram execution, benefiting all parties involved. The demand for such integrated ecosystems is strong; according to the August 2024 'Supply Chain Collaboration Report' by RELEX Solutions, 87% of respondents from manufacturing and consumer goods companies expressed a desire for increased collaboration with retail partners, highlighting the critical market shift toward shared data infrastructure.

Key Players Profiled in the Category Management Software Market

• JDA Software Group, Inc.
• SAP SE
• Oracle Corporation
• International Business Machines Corporation
• Infor, Inc.
• Nielsen Holdings PLC
• SAS Institute Inc.
• Manhattan Associates, Inc.
• Symphony RetailAI
• Aptos, Inc.

Report Scope

In this report, the Global Category management software Market has been segmented into the following categories:

Category management software Market, by Solution:

• Planogram Software
• Floor Planning Software

Category management software Market, by Service:

• Managed Services
• Professional Services

Category management software Market, by Deployment:

• On-premises
• Cloud-based

Category management software Market, by Enterprise Size:

• Large Enterprises
• Small & Medium Enterprises

Category management software Market, by Application:

• Retail
• Distribution

Category management software Market, by Region:

• North America
• Europe
• Asia-Pacific
• South America
• Middle East & Africa

Competitive Landscape

Company Profiles: Detailed analysis of the major companies present in the Global Category management software Market.

Available Customization

The analyst offers customization according to your specific needs. The following customization options are available for the report:

• Detailed analysis and profiling of additional market players (up to five).

This product will be delivered within 1-3 business days.