The impact of Covid 19 on retail stores

It’s no surprise that the current COVID-19 pandemic has had drastic impacts on certain industries across the globe. With the retail industry moving swiftly online due to the high demand of customer orders, it will be interesting to know what the retail industry will look like post-COVID-19, and how many physical retail stores will still be standing in years to come.

With the recent lockdown leading more consumers to shop online, the number of online B2B purchases has risen from 41% before lockdown to 46% during lockdown. Judging by the high risk and uncertainty around the pandemic, it has been predicted that 66% of people worldwide will continue to avoid busy places, meaning a likely negative impact on further retail stores.

Retail insights firm Edge by Ascential, says the surge in online shopping in the UK caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to add ￡5.3 billion to UK e-commerce sales this year, reaching a total of ￡78.9 billion.

So how are retailers innovating competitively?

 The high street needs to keep up with the trend and move the majority of their stores online. “76% of consumers want personalised in-store experiences from mobile devices, and 47% believe self-checkout devices are perceived necessary to improve the shopping experience” stated Stefan Spendrup at SOTI.

An increase of services such as those previously mentioned will boost a large percentage of purchases to online stores.

An overall positive step for ecommerce businesses!