Contrary to popular beliefs, the Covid-19 global pandemic did not bring an end to the era of the physical retail space. Admittedly though, and evident enough, the online space has further opened up several exciting and advantageous opportunities for the business world. This could very well mean a continuous decline over the coming months of 2021 as the world struggles to return to pre-pandemic mode.
2020 is almost behind us with just a few days to go again, and we can choose to see the future in 2021 as ripe with exciting and interesting possibilities or daunting with business failures ahead.
While challenges abound and await us, physical and online businesses must adapt to what people are buying into as we continue to navigate this crisis --- Convenience.
Take a good long look around. It is the very core of what is selling; what people are seeking. They want convenience: the curbside pick-up, the online shopping, becoming cashless, the combo packages, the WhatsApp lists, all these and more of the many adaptive measures we’ve put in place to continue business in a pandemic, does more than just help to keep us safe. There is an even better question that businesses put forward in their marketing and sales plans now – how do we make it convenient for the customer? The customer’s journey is now looked at carefully by smart businesses.
This added benefit for the customer of packaging products and services and making life convenient for the customer, comes with transitioning to the online space. For the brick-and-mortar, integration is of utmost importance now, as seen by many businesses. (Think of Pricesmart and how they quickly adjusted to having customers browse products online and pick up at the physical location in a set space.) If the physical retail space is to withstand the inevitable changing times and thrive through it all, an eye-opener is needed that could very well be the fact that retailers can no longer survive on the advantages they had pre-COVID-19, for example, physical contact and closeness to the customer builds personal relationships. This no longer holds true. At this time, we are not craving physical contact. We may miss it, yes, but at the forefront of our minds, is safety first.
Nonetheless, you can keep your business thriving through what may seem like the longest stretch of uncertain times. Physical retail spaces will now have to evolve into a more fitting model that will clearly address the need for convenience and ensure that their business place is a safe stop for many consumers.
Retailers may also want to look at the general trend in shopping and spending amidst this crisis. On any given day now, you can find several queues at supermarkets, marketplaces, departmental stores, and other places. Shopping trends show a migration from monthly trips to weekly and daily visits to stores. Does this mean that consumers are holding back a few dollars and cents for when it's exactly necessary? Also to be noted, is the haste with which consumers want to get their business done. They are no longer keen on walking around or browsing shelves of displays. They simply want to get in, pick up whatever they need, cash, and leave. Whatever the reason for their frequent shopping, one thing is sure – people have not stopped buying during the pandemic, and it is important to keep access open for both your online shoppers as well as your physical retail shoppers.
Understanding now, your customer’s journey and the shopping experience they desire, retailers can change their store’s footprint. Your retail space should be easy to navigate and the most popular and must-by items strategically placed to the store’s front, thus making it Convenient for the customer to grab and go. With this model, sales are not sacrificed, but rather encouraged as consumers spend less time walking around and over-crowding in lanes is curtailed. Some stores have even opted for placing a table with the must-haves just in front of their store’s entrance so customers can just pick up and go without having to join long lines, not forgetting, eliminating the possibility of touching surfaces among other safety hazards.
Having dealt with convenience, your retail store’s products need to appeal to customers so that your store is an optional stop for them. An opportunity presents itself now in the form of innovation and creativity. These two characteristics of entrepreneurship must now be your USP. We see a few brands recognizing this and are no longer copying their competitors or competing on price; rather they have found an opportunity to finally stand out and develop their own brand in the face of adversity. (Opportunity well seized!). Innovation and Creativity mean that Entrepreneurs and businesses must do the work now. Copying competitor’s products and services are a lazy attempt of trying to run a business where one will ultimately lose the customer to a lower-cost provider. So no doubt, we do expect to see a number of those copycat businesses collapse, but that can be avoided if they think quickly and inject substantial amounts of Innovation and Creativity into their businesses, reminding themselves too, that ideas are a race to execution. All this is necessary now to ensure your physical retail is a definite stop for your customers.
It must be repeated that this re-modeling and re-structuring requires a great investment of time and skill. These exercises must be done rapidly if retail physical has to move along with this new shift. With great effort and dedication to serving the customer, retailers can successfully adapt to the customer’s journey and certainly keep business going in 2021.
