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New Formats for a New Normal

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Exploring Recent Retail Innovations in a Post-Pandemic World

As we get closer to a post-pandemic world, many businesses and consumers alike are figuring out yet another “new normal.” While e-commerce shopping channels increased significantly during the pandemic, the sales in these channels are leveling off for the first time in months. Recent data from NPD shows brick and mortar stores not only recovered in the past few weeks, but they have “exceeded pre-pandemic levels.” In-store sales were $1.7 billion higher than this time last year, and $400 million above 2019.

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A Race to the Door

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Every major brand is in a race to find innovative ways to ship products to their customers. Fueled by the pandemic and the growing importance of convenience for consumers, retailers, grocery stores, restaurants, and other brands are faced with increased pressure and competition to offer faster delivery times. Some brands are leveraging advanced technology and robotics, while others are experimenting with third-party delivery and BOPIS, or curbside pickup. Here are three observations on growing delivery trends in the retail, eCommerce, and grocery markets.

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Solutions to Overcome BOPIS Inventory Pitfalls and Challenges

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Today’s consumers place a high value on convenience. In fact, some stats show up to “97% of consumers have abandoned a purchase because the service wasn’t convenient enough.” Retailers and businesses today know the importance of offering more convenient omnichannel fulfillment methods, such as BOPIS (buy online pick up in-store) and curbside. Accelerated by the pandemic in 2020, more businesses today are looking for ways to improve, or fully implement, online order fulfillment in their locations.

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Revive the Customer Experience

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If you want your business to grow, you will need to focus on building a positive customer experience (CX). Why? Providing a positive CX can directly increase your revenue in 2-3 years. A survey asked 1,920 business professionals to share their number one priority for the next 5 years. Creating a positive customer experience came in first, beating product and pricing.
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Regain Lost Revenues

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With 2020 finally behind us, the future for retail is looking bright. Despite a global pandemic, total retail sales still performed well in 2020. The National Retail Federation (NRF) recently announced early findings show a 6.7 percent increase in retail sales from 2019 to $4.06 trillion, and they expect total retail sales to exceed $4.33 trillion in 2021. The BEA also reported consumer spending was up 2.4 percent already in January 2021, which is a great sign for overall economic growth.
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Refocus Your Supply Chain

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To say COVID-19 was devastating for retail and convenience is an understatement. Supply chains weren’t just disrupted; they were thrown into complete chaos. The waves from the supply and demand ripple effects quickly grew, wreaking havoc on the already fragile infrastructure that is the modern-day global supply chain.

While the timeline for when supply chains will return to normal is uncertain, what we do know is that retailers, c-store operators, CPG, and brands have to continue adapting in order to move forward.
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