In 2020, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic fundamentally transformed the global retailing industry, not least by making e-commerce the default option for many homebound consumers. As the world begins tentatively to move past the pandemic, many consumers will return to stores, and the future looks bright for retailing, but retailers must now accelerate the transformation of their physical footprints to provide a seamless shopping experience across store-based and digital channels.
As remote work patterns reshape mobility trends, retail infrastructure will shift to a leaner, localised and more suburban footprint that devotes a greater amount of physical space to online order fulfilment. Although the look, location, role and feel of bricks-and-mortar stores are evolving, store-based retailing will remain the largest and most important channel globally over the next five years.
With the reduction of in-person shopping, due to health concerns, livestreaming made inroads during the crisis, emerging as a digital shopping medium with the ability to create an emotional connection more associated with in-person shopping. Live selling has the potential to further disrupt an already shaken retail industry in 2021 and beyond.
With economic recovery slow in many places and highly uneven in others, many consumers will turn to retail channels specialising in low-cost products. This will be particularly true of essentials like grocery or home care products.
Rising last-mile delivery costs and environmental concerns, magnified by the crisis-inspired e-commerce boom, are forcing retailers to explore new delivery and collection methods. While companies struggle to build up logistics networks and re-imagine physical assets to handle this new level of demand, consumers are likely to be forced to reset their last mile delivery expectations in 2021.
If you purchase a report that is updated in the next 60 days, we will send you the new edition and data extract FREE! Home Page