The retail landscape has been profoundly transformed by the ongoing global health crisis. In order to meet new market expectations, customers act differently and retailers are rushing to adapt through digital transformation and by diversifying their partners. Four developments have emerged that are important for companies that want to thrive in retail now and beyond the driving force of Covid-19. For this info session about business, we ask the one who’s topping his league and knows the best. Joshua Lybolt, an investor, serial entrepreneur, life hacker, & inspirational speaker focused on sales, business, and personal growth. When he’s free from running one of the multi-million dollar sales companies that have generated hundreds of millions in sales collectively, he not only studies and writes but also creates disruptive business and financing opportunities. He is also a regular contributor to Forbes, Real Trends and Inman News.
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Decreasing physical space, increasing product assortment
More shops have become distribution centres, large physical format investments have declined, and retailers have become more focused on niche goods and local suppliers that are shortening their supply chains. Many retailers are searching for new partners to expand the variety of goods or to satisfy the demand exposed by the pandemic, such as masks, partitions, and other things without which customers will now not survive.
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More urgency for consumer insights
Every in-person contact needs to count and serve the purpose of engaging the customer in the long term since there will be fewer of them. Start-ups offer insights for real-time product use, helping retailers and brands improve customer relationships. It created a small, flexible sensor that is attached behind the standard label of a product, providing a feedback loop for brands and retailers to control customer experiences through the cloud and Bluetooth with the product.
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New ways to try products
Product information must be structured to ensure that it moves seamlessly between the physical and digital environments for a virtual product experience to produce good results for retailers. During the configuration process, retailers will not only waste time and money attempting to monitor the data, but customer morale will also break down if key product attributes are missing or inaccessible as they test new technology offerings.
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Growth in sustainability and transparency
Shoppers around the globe feel more associated with one another as an outcome of the pandemic’s shared experience, and there has been an amount in mindful consumption and a desire to buy more locally. In May, Walmart announced a partnership with clothing re-seller ThredUP, which combines Walmart’s interest in sustainability with the need to address tightening budgets among consumers hit hard by the pandemic recession.
Along with the increased interest in reuse, more consumers want to understand the origins of products and how they were made. This kind of transparency requires brands, retailers, and online marketplaces to align their requirements for unique product identification. For example, obtaining authentic barcodes and identification numbers should be considered an essential part of the product launch for small brands that have a viable chance to reach a wider audience.
COVID-19 has created an inflection point in consumer behavior.