Long Road Ahead: 5 Strategies for Retailers to Recover Business After the Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken its toll on the retail sector. Not only have stores had to close for an unprecedented length of time, but the ensuing recession means that demand is suffering and people aren’t spending as much. With that said, the world never stands still. Entrepreneurs and leaders in the sector are responding and adapting with unprecedented speed, continuing to provide customers with a high level of service and test out new business models. Here are 5 strategies you can use to boost your sales and recover from the destruction wrought by the pandemic. 

By Team Savant

If this crisis had happened a decade ago, it is unlikely that the retail sector would have been able to bounce back. But given the technologies that we now have — and the brand capital — a quick recovery appears increasingly likely. 

Retailers can’t stay in their traditional paradigm. The 2020s are going to look very different for the industry, especially if we get a second peak of coronavirus cases in Europe and America. The sector can no longer assume that the old brick-and-mortar model is coming back to pre-crisis levels. It was already in chronic decline before COVID-19 hit and will continue to play second fiddle to e-commerce in the future. Firms in the sector must prepare themselves for that risk. 

Fortunately, there are several strategies that retailers can use to overcome the current crisis and keep their businesses viable. These strategies will require wholesale changes at a fundamental level. But they do point to a brighter, perhaps even more profitable future for those enterprises who do the necessary work. 

Offer Virtual Shopping Experiences

Ten years ago, people predicted that the brick-and-mortar retail sector would decline to practically nothing. Customers would simply order everything they wanted through the internet. That eventuality, however, never panned out. Online sales grew in the double-digits, but regular retail only declined by a percentage point or two each year. The change was significant, but it was hardly game-changing, as many people expected. 

The reason for this was the joy of the shopping experience itself. Stores have known for decades that people live to peruse goods just for fun. Shops aren’t merely efficient repositories of products: they’re also fun places to go. In-store experiences became an essential part of the fightback against online retail. Stores realised that they could do things that the likes of Amazon couldn’t, such as offering in-person customer service and places to sit and have a drink. 

COVID-19 pulled the rug out from underneath that strategy, but that doesn’t mean all hope is lost. First, non-essential stores are now opening back up again. But second, and more importantly, brands should consider taking advantage of virtual shopping experiences, as the real estate industry does. 

Instead of customers putting themselves at potential risk of infection by travelling to a store, they can simply browse goods from the comfort of their homes on their PCs or using a VR headset. The software recreates a 3D version of the shopping environment, making the online shopping experience more attractive. The most advanced versions allow customers to inspect clothes visually and even try them on in cyberspace. 

Re-Localise Stores

COVID-19 has led to profound changes in the way people perceive the world. Before the crisis, globalism was the dominant paradigm. It said that people were fundamentally the same and that businesses should apply blanket policies and branding, no matter where they operate. But the breakdown of international supply chains, the closure of borders, and the need to shop locally has changed all that. People now recognise that there is inherent value in local things, and they’re demanding that retailers reflect this new reality. 

Companies, therefore, should think about how to give their stores a sense of community and purpose. They need to carefully consider the heritage of the area, instead of giving primacy to their brands. 

Some stores, for instance, are providing a new model they call ‘retail-as-a-service’. The idea here is to offer an end-to-end retail experience where people can pick up the products that they want, without having to worry about how they will look after their kids or whether there is a restroom. Camp, for instance, now offers a family creche for children to play while parents shop for the things that they need. Once they’re done, they collect their kids and then take them to the next store. 

Parents who have a membership can access a host of services that shoppers could only have dreamed about in years gone by. It is the sort of thing that will encourage shoppers to get back out to stores and to spend money again. 

Make Risk-Abatement Conspicuous

Customers are rightly worried about the risk of getting COVID-19 when they travel to retail stores. The very fact that the government decided to close non-essential stores is an indication of the fact that these are potential vectors of transmission. That’s not good branding. 

Retailers, therefore, will need to offer risk-abatement measures to put customers at ease. Already, we see the big brands doing this throughout the sector with things like social distancing stickers and queues outside stores. Now everyone else needs to play catch up. 

Part of the solution will involve training staff on the best methods to protect customers from infection. Retailers should consider making masks and gloves mandatory for employees on the shop floor. And they should develop procedures that colleagues can use to prove to customers that they are doing everything that they can to protect them. 

Temperature sensors, for instance, are a cheap and ubiquitous option that can help keep people with fevers out of the store. Another idea is to create a system for cleaning products after a customer handles them. Whatever strategies you choose, make sure that they’re conspicuous. You want people to know you’re doing everything you can to limit the spread of infection. 

Provide Customers With A Sense Of Purpose

The coronavirus pandemic and the financial crisis have shaken the dominant secular paradigm that we’re all here to create our own purposes in life. Many people are not unsure whether we are or not. The future seems so uncertain. And unlike in the latter half of the twentieth century, returns to wealth are falling. People aren’t able to make the same kind of progress that they once did. It’s led to a new and uneasy sense that we don’t really know why we’re here or what we’re doing. It is an existential crisis, but also an opportunity for retailers. 

If you look at today’s modern brands, they don’t recoil from the idea of having a purpose. Instead, they actively foster it and try to get their customers on board. People, the thinking goes, need a sense of direction, and retailers can provide it. Just look at how many people are now concerned about the environment. Looking after nature is now so much more than merely protecting wildlife or preserving natural habitats. It’s become a fundamental aspect of people’s characters and a statement of their values. 

Smart retailers are tapping into these emerging quasi-spiritual trends, and tailoring their products to match. Sustainable packaging, biodegradable clothes and palm oil-free products are all becoming increasingly popular. 

Create Bookable Retail Experience Slots

When social distancing didn’t matter, retailers attempted to cram as many people into their stores as possible. If they wanted people to dwell longer, they would decrease the tempo of the in-store music. If they wanted to get people moving faster, they would increase it.

Today, though, the aim of the game is to ensure that customers keep their distance from each other. Many companies are using queues outside stores to do this. But this is hardly conducive to positive customer experience. 

Now, though, smart companies are using the same system as restaurants — giving customers “bookable slots,” allowing them to turn up at a time of their choosing and peruse items at their leisure. Companies are deploying the system all across the world. The Museum of Ice Cream, for instance, is allowing fifteen customers at a time to minimise crowding. Other services are offering one-to-one consultations, especially those in the wedding industry, like bridal wear shops. 

COVID-19 has also made a lot of people feel as though their lives are no longer in their control. Governments have imposed strict lockdowns to control the spread of infection, meaning that the majority of people simply haven’t been able to live their lives in the way that they’d like. Not being able to see friends and relatives has taken its toll.

Retailers, therefore, should focus on providing their customers with a sense of control again. Companies need to allow people to make decisions on their own terms because arrangements have been taken out of their hands for so long. This could work extremely well in facilities such as hair salons. By using a Salon Booking System they are able to provide their customers with the peace of mind that they are booking an appropriate slot that is going to be both convenient and safe. 

Technology will be at the centre of this process. Customers should be able to check ahead of time whether the products they want to buy are in stock. We will also see a rise in-app features that allow customers to get staff to meet their needs while they’re in store.