The Coronavirus Pandemic has Transformed the Retail Industry Landscape; Here is How

Apac CIO Outlook | Monday, November 02, 2020

As per Adobe’s Digital Economy Index report released in mid-June, US online spending in May touched $82.5 billion, up 77 percent year-on-year, a long leap.

FREMONT, CA: Retail is a customer-oriented industry, and consumers are demanding. Today’s consumers want a personalized and omnichannel experience from the retail sector. The internet has changed the way customers used to shop. Smartphones have allowed people to do online shopping. However, the coronavirus pandemic has brought a lot of changes in the retail landscape.

Changing Shopping Patterns

The coronavirus pandemic has compelled governments to implement country-wide lockdown. People locked themselves indoors to prevent the virus from spreading. While shopping malls have been closed, online shopping has saved the world. As per Adobe’s Digital Economy Index report released in mid-June, US online spending in May touched $82.5 billion, up 77 percent year-on-year, a long leap.

China witnessed an exponential increase in the number of consumers shopping online, while 13 percent of Europeans said in April that they were looking to investig

ate e-tailers for the first time. Italy, one of the severely affected nations in the world during COVID-19, reported an 81 percent increase in e-commerce transactions since the end of February. The post-COVID-19 world is expected to see the continuation of online shopping.

Emerging Technology Solutions

Due to the safety concerns concerning COVID-19, consumers are opting for contactless and mobile payment methods ridding themselves of carrying cash or touching POS terminal keypads. At the end of March, 22 percent of connected consumers worldwide utilized a digital wallet for purchasing at least one product in a physical store, surveys suggest.

Other emerging technology-powered models have entered the commercial market and thrived. Many customers have preferred utilizing new omnichannel approaches, like buy online pick up in-store (BOPIS), which increased 28 percent year-over-year in February in comparison with 18 percent in January. These new practices are expected to become more popular in the future. 56 percent of consumers conveyed that they have a high desire to continue utilizing BOPIS after the pandemic.