How Shopping Is Going to Change

We’ve transitioned to remote working and learning, adapted to virtual happy hours with friends and family, and turned to digital fitness apps just to stay sane. Various studies on the internet say it takes about two months to form a new habit, so I’d say we’re there.

One way or another, many of us will emerge from this crisis with new ways of doing things—especially when it comes to shopping. For instance, there’s a much higher interest in shopping local, according to CNBC. This experience (and economy) has instilled in many consumers a greater passion to support the businesses that matter to them. People want to ensure their favorite coffee shops, breweries or menswear stores are around after we emerge from isolation.

Because in case you missed it, the temporary pause on daily life has proven to be catastrophic for a lot of retailers, including most mall anchor stores. Neiman Marcus declared bankruptcy, becoming the largest U.S. retailer to do so during the pandemic. J.C. Penney filed for bankruptcy, with plans to close 242 locations—more than a fourth of its stores. Even Nordstrom, often thought of as the shining star of department stores, recently announced permanent closures of more than a dozen U.S. outlets. As if malls weren’t already endangered species.

As stores across the country begin to reopen, they’re met with a new reality. The old method was to get customers to linger, in hopes they’ll buy more than they need. But now? Retailers are reimagining their environments for a grab-and-go future filled with deliberate purchases. The focus has become how to make shopping faster, easier and safer.

Of course, when safety measures equate plexiglass partitions, temperature checks at the door and no more sampling, a lot of the fun of physical shopping has been removed, hasn’t it? Besides e-commerce is regarded by many as the safest shopping option of all, reports Forbes.

They observed that many consumers moved shopping for essential items to online purchasing and will continue to do so in the post-COVID-19 period. Which means that retailers will be innovating, finding better ways to showcase inventory online and ensuring that shipping and tracking are on point. If online shopping was already the future of retail, this will ensure it’s even smarter.