Wouldn't the IoT be a function of the manufacturing industry...

Wouldn't the IoT be a function of the manufacturing industry rather than the retail industry - products need to be made with chips that utilise the software that does the communication. Every retailer will be selling the products and I would assume that the data collected would be useful to the manufacturer, the retailer, to manufacturers of alternate product, to communication companies and to any other organisation that manufactures any product that may link to the product sold for the purpose of using the data in regard to everything from communication to and from the product to planning for manufacture future products etc

I am missing the direct association benefit to Sears