Since March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted virtually all aspects of our daily lives. Zoom meetings have replaced conference room gatherings. Kids attend classes from kitchen tables. Family movie nights are likely to involve a first-run film streamed to a television, not a trip to the local cinema.
The retail sector certainly has felt the upheaval of the pandemic. But despite what some may think, not all of the news is bad. Retailers have found new ways to connect with, and serve, customers, particularly through e-commerce. Retail sales numbers for Q3 and Q4 2020 prove that customers are willing to spend both on line and in stores — but their expectations for the shopping experience have changed.
In order to keep pace with this new reality of retail shopping (which isn’t going to revert back to pre-pandemic norms even when COVID-19 is in check), retailers…
