Data Deep Dive: Analyzing 2025’s Most Popular Retail IT Channel Content

By Jim Roddy, President & CEO at the RSPA

Nobody receives market feedback faster than a standup comedian. If your joke hits, the audience laughs; if people chuck rotten tomatoes at your head, your bit needs some work.

Collecting feedback on B2B content in the retail IT channel avoids the dangers of vegetable-dodging, but it requires patience, data collection, and analysis to determine what resonates with your target audience.

In this post, we’ll share what content published by the RSPA on the RSPA Blog, RSPA Community IQ Resource Center, and Trusted Advisor Podcast captured the most attention from retail IT channel executives in 2025.

Our source is web analytics from the past year, and we’ve divided the results into three content categories below: Blog, Community IQ, and Podcast. For each category, we’ll list at least the 12 most popular pieces of content, and then I’ll offer some analysis.

We hope you glean new ideas and best practices through this peer-focused content, and we also hope to serve as an example for you to emulate. Make your customers the hero – while building your brand and growing mindshare – by creating quality content.

For guidance on how your SMB company can create thought leadership content efficiently and effectively, read the RSPA’s Spartan Plan to Powerful B2B Content Marketing.

RSPA Blog

  1. The Ultimate List of Recurring Revenue Products and Services [Version 4.0]
  2. SEAA 2025 Analysis: “The Game Has Changed”
  3. VARTECH 2025 Analysis: The AI-Powered Future of the Retail IT Channel is “Supercharged Closeness”
  4. RetailNOW 2025 Analysis: I’m Betting on Our Independent Mesh Network of Entrepreneurs
  5. From NRF 2025: Retail AI Gets Practical, Creating Massive Opportunity for Fast-Acting VARs & ISVs
  6. Retail IT VARs, ISVs Draft Battle Plan vs. “800-Number Guys” at RSPA Inspire 2025
  7. RSPA (and the Retail IT Channel) By The Numbers – 2025 Edition
  8. ScanSource 2025 Partner First: In Our New AI World, VARs Will Lead the Way
  9. 6 Lessons for VARs and ISVs from Restaurants Canada 2025; RSPA Canadian Community Event
  10. Legally Speaking: Surcharge and Cash Discounts – What RSPA Members Need to Know
  11. MJBizCon 2024 Analysis: When Will the Cannabis Industry Fully Embrace Retail Tech?
  12. Stop Talking About AI and Start Using It: A Practical Application for Busy Channel Executives

Content on industry events continues to attract the most eyeballs. Of the top nine blog articles, seven were show/conference-related, and the themes of those events help us see what’s trending: AI, ISOs, AI again, staving off the 800-number guys, and even more AI.

Our updated Ultimate Recurring Revenue List was the runaway most popular blog post in 2025 after ranking #4 on last year’s list soon after its launch. No matter the season, retail IT VARs and ISVs care about recurring revenue. Another article with staying power was Atty. Jill Miller’s piece on surcharging and cash discounting. It ranked #10 on our list for the second consecutive year, solidifying her status as our industry’s foremost expert on that topic.

Our new piece about the practical application of AI – just launched in October – earned the #12 spot. That means one-third of the top dozen blog posts focus on artificial intelligence. Expect to see more AI content from the RSPA in 2026 with guidance from the newly formed RSPA AI Advisory Group.

RSPA Community IQ Resource Center

The Community IQ Resource Center on the RSPA website features thought leadership content authored by our members. 

  1. Sales Per Labor Hour Formula: How Your Customers Can Use it to Reduce Labor Expenses by TimeForge Labor Management
  2. Navigating California’s Prop 65: The Importance of BPS-Free Thermal Receipt Paper by POS Supply Solutions
  3. How Restaurants Use Special Events to Boost Sales by ItsaCheckmate
  4. Building Trust in the Retail IT Channel: Insights from RSPA’s NextGen Rising Stars featuring Christina Redell, Ravyx; Jared Zeigler, Datacap Systems; Max Little, Metropolitan Sales; Arnav Kaushik, Quantic; and Michael Chalberg, Korona POS
  5. Revolutionizing Retail Payments: Rise of the Digital Wallets by Blake Rouse, Sola (formerly Cardknox)
  6. What AI POS Means for the Future of Retail by Jessie Li, iMin Technology

Save the date for the retail IT channel’s #1 trade show, education conference, and networking event. RetailNOW 2026 is set for July 26-28 at the new Caesars Forum in Las Vegas. It’s Where The Industry Meets! 

  1. Six Red Flags: Protecting Your Business from Predatory Payment Processors by Elie Katz, National Retail Solutions (NRS)
  2. Four AI Automation Services Restaurants Need in 2025 by Aldelo
  3. Universal 8112 Coupons: A New Standard for Retail by Auto-Star Compusystems
  4. How Point of Sale Providers Can Differentiate Themselves from Larger, Verticalized Competitors by Datacap Systems
  5. A Practical Guide to Cash Discounting & Surcharging for VARs & ISVs by Clearent by Xplor
  6. Growth, Leadership, and Empowering Women in Retail IT with RSPA W2W Leader of the Year Allie Haskell (of CBS NorthStar)

Can you say three-peat? TimeForge’s “Sales Per Labor Hour Formula” article, published back in Oct. 2022, ranks #1 on the Community IQ list for the third consecutive year. If, like TimeForge, you create a quality, audience-focused article, report, podcast, or video, then you use the right words to boost SEO and promote that content effectively, you’ll reap benefits for years.

TimeForge’s piece isn’t the only example of that. ItsaCheckmate’s article on special events in restaurants, first published in June 2023, ranked third on this year’s list after coming in at #10 last year. Other repeat performers are Sola’s digital wallets article (#5 in 2025, #3 in 2024) and Auto-Star’s piece on universal 8112 coupons (#10 2025, #4 2024).

I tried looking for other trends and commonalities on the IQ list, but consider me stumped. Last year security-related articles locked down half of the top eight most-consumed pieces of content, but this year the top eight pieces range from augmented reality to payments to receipt paper to AI.

To submit your content or learn more about the Community IQ Resource Center, email RSPA Sr. Marketing Communications Manager Ayana Scriven at AScriven@GoRSPA.org.

RSPA Trusted Advisor Podcast

  1. Toshiba, Popmenu Share How Vendors Can Navigate Channel and Direct Sales featuring Crystal Harrison and Tony Roy
  2. Strategy and Leadership with Round 2 POS President John Giles
  3. Authentic Leadership with COCARD’s Dan Brattland
  4. John Giles of Round 2 POS Envisions the VAR of the Future
  5. Ethical Capitalism with CEO of the Year Bob Chapman
  6. “Speak as Well as You Think” with John Vautier
  7. ScanSource SVP Ansley Hoke Talks “Stickier” Solutions, Leadership
  8. Shared Leadership with Heartland’s Andre Nataf, Maddie Stockwell
  9. Creating an Ownership Culture with Payteva’s Steve Casteel
  10. Retail IT Channel Networking Best Practices featuring Melissa McGrath, Value Systems; Megan Farley, Electronic Office; Crystal Barrineau, OrderCounter; and host Christine Antonson, Synovus
  11. Studio Rx’s Carl Boutet, DevPro Journal’s Mike Monocello Offer Post-RetailNOW 2025 Analysis
  12. Industry Experts Analyze 2025 RSPA Retail IT Channel KPI Study featuring BlueStar’s Dean Reverman and POS Nation’s Will Atkinson
  13. Networking and Connectivity VAR Opportunities with BlueStar’s Jim Hilton

Even though I’m host of The Trusted Advisor, I take zero credit for this year’s top-ranked episode. Kudos to the longtime RSPA VAR member who reached out to me seeking examples of vendors who appropriately balance channel sales with direct sales. Finding no resources for him, I contacted several VAR members who suggested we pick the brains of Toshiba’s Crystal Harrison and Popmenu’s Tony Roy. We did, and that interview made RSPA podcast history with its popularity.

I also don’t deserve credit for the #10-ranked episode because that was created by four graduates of the RSPA Academy Leading Conversations Bootcamp. Melissa McGrath of VAR Value Systems, Megan Farley of VAR Electronic Office, Crystal Barrineau of ISV OrderCounter, and host Christine Antonson of Synovus set a great example of stepping outside their comfort zone and expanding their skillset.

Other popular podcasts of note:

  • I’ve always said John Giles from ISV Round 2 POS is a must-listen whenever he speaks about our industry, and now I have numbers to support that assertion. Giles’ Oct. 2024 pod on strategy and leadership ranked #2 this year while his Sept. 2025 “VAR of the Future” episode ranked #4.
  • COCARD’s Dan Brattland is another must-listen in the retail IT channel. A popular speaker every year at RSPA Inspire and RetailNOW, Brattland held the #3 spot on our list of most popular podcasts for the second consecutive year. His 2025 episode on authentic leadership matched the ranking of his 2024 interview about sales messaging.
  • BlueStar claimed two spots on our list for the second consecutive year. Dean Reverman’s analysis of the 2025 RSPA Retail IT Channel KPI Study and Jim Hilton’s networking and connectivity interview were hits with RSPA listeners.
  • We introduced renowned CEO and best-selling author Bob Chapman and speaking coach John Vautier to the RSPA community, and they were well received. Chapman’s episode ranked #5, one spot ahead of Vautier.

It’s been great walking through this content with you, and I’d love to talk some more, but we gotta get back to work creating more content for you in 2026!

Editor’s Note: To see our content rankings from previous years, follow these links:

Be sure to save the date for the retail IT channel’s #1 trade show, education conference, and networking event: RetailNOW 2026, July 26-28 at Caesars Forum in Las Vegas

Jim Roddy is the President and CEO of the Retail Solutions Providers Association (RSPA). He has been active in the retail IT channel since 1998, including 11 years as the President of Business Solutions Magazine, six years as an RSPA board member, one term as RSPA Chairman of the Board, and several years as a business coach for VARs, ISVs, and MSPs. Jim has been recognized as one of the world’s Top Retail Experts by RETHINK Retail and is regularly requested to speak at industry conferences on SMB best practices. He is author of two books – The Walk-On Method To Career & Business Success and Hire Like You Just Beat Cancer – and is host of the award-winning RSPA Trusted Advisor podcast. For more information, contact JRoddy@GoRSPA.org.