The New Normal for Retail

The ongoing global situation with COVID-19 is already indicating the need to reset many fundamentals across our social, business and economic order. These fundamentals will become the new normal forcing companies to rethink existing text-book best practices, business continuity plans and how to stay resilient during uncertainty.

Retailers, now more than ever, must reorganize their business models, demand supply planning, and risk mitigation strategies while applying a deeper human-centered approach to their business.

Store retailers heavily invested in experiences to bring people and communities together in order to drive loyalty and business. While reevaluating their fixed costs, they must now explore what a contactless retail concept may look like in the physical realm.

Online marketplaces benefitted from the highly mobile and interconnected customers as well as favorable cost structures. But when global supply chains and fulfillment are impacted, this business model is equally vulnerable like its physical cousin. A precise real-time view of inventory, dynamic demand & supply modeling with elastic cost structures will now be even more essential to survival and success in the already profit-challenged online commerce space.

This pandemic has also shown us the dire need to perfect the art of remote operations and disaster readiness. While some tech-native companies rebounded quicker, many are still struggling to reactivate and avoid the heavy fixed costs of just keeping the lights on. The new normal will challenge businesses to question their every fixed cost and redefine how they must prepare for remote operations. Elasticity in cost structures must be augmented with workforce productivity practices that enable better trust and accountability.

As the technology infrastructure gets stress-tested, many retailers are now noticing the weak spots in their investments and readiness. Technology will continue to be high on digital leaders’ agenda as a key enabler in reimagining business models and driving productivity even during a crisis. Being cloud-native, remote-ready, asset-light and ecosystem-powered will become table stakes for each business to be ready for the new normal.

While there is an ongoing sense of paranoia, the visionaries will see the opportunities in chaos and prepare both their businesses and people to emerge stronger out of the crisis.

Stay safe. Stay creative.