Retail recovery: Redefining “business as usual”
Blog: Capgemini CTO Blog
Today’s health emergency has introduced an unprecedented level of disruption to people’s daily lives. While many are eager to return to normal, many organizations must consider what that really means.
For retailers, recovery will not be a return to “business as usual”, but an entirely new reality—one in which the consumer will have fundamentally different needs, preferences and expectations.
While it is not yet clear how our current environment will change shopping habits in the months to come, we have noticed several baseline trends that are likely to alter the landscape:
- Home delivery: Online shopping is hardly a new experience for many people. And yet, this period has created a mass trial of sorts, as every customer becomes a digital shopper overnight. With the barrier to entry now removed, retailers are likely to see customers continue to rely on digital channels, even after “shelter in place” orders are relaxed. This evolution will have huge implications for how retailers build their supply chains, invest in resources and staff their business.
- Remote work: While not all people have the ability to work from home, a large subset of the population is now trialing the home office—and many are seeing the benefits in terms of productivity, efficiency and overall satisfaction. With remote work expected to rise, we are likely to see major shifts both in when and where people shop and how they consume products. What does that mean for retailers and consumer products companies? How will it change the demand? How will it alter buying habits?
- Community: Times of hardship have been known to bring communities closer together—and this situation is no different. Despite being physically apart, so many people feel closer than ever. In the retail world, we see an example of this in home delivery. With windows in high demand, some neighborhoods have pooled orders, designating a de facto distribution hub for neighbors, friends and family. It is this focus on the collective good that should make retailers reconsider how they weave their core values into the customer experience in the weeks and months to come.
As retailers develop an effective recovery strategy, it will be important to harness the power of data to determine how consumer behaviors and sentiment has changed. Our People Data Centre (PDC), developed and launched in conjunction with Unilever, is a social and business analytics tool that provides real-time, data-driven insights about consumer sentiment and behavior. PDC gathers millions of data points globally to help brands to understand meta trends triggered by this health emergency. Our service then applies these global insights within the context of an individual brand, category or product, helping marketeers to provide more relevant products, services and communications to their consumers.
To learn more about how data can help organizations address the challenges of this environment and formulate a sound recovery strategy, view our Smart Retail Planner Overview and Digital Supply Chain report.
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