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It doesn’t have to be the end
How retailers can grow in light of COVID-19 By Robert Flowers, CEO, DivideBuy
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...consumers are still willing to make purchases, they have just switched to online shopping instead.”
t’s no news that the retail industry has been f lipped on its head by the
COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the lockdown, most in- store operations have been shut down, and nationwide furloughs, reduced pay and steady streams of income at risk have fuelled a change in consumer spending priorities and trends.
We need to band together to determine how retailers can strengthen current operations, support their loyal customer base, and continue to grow in the midst of the virus and unpredictable changes to purchasing behaviour.
Gauging the impact on the retail sector The UK Government’s April retail analysis revealed that the monthly retail sales volume fell by a record 18.1 per cent; the largest fall it has ever recorded since the retail analysis series began. This defeated the previous record of 5.2 per cent drop from March, showing us that COVID-19 is negatively impacting parts of the retail industry. Clothing store sales
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saw a particularly sharp drop when compared with the previous month, plummeting to 50.2 per cent when compared with the 34.8 per cent drop seen in March.
Not all sales channels are facing the same plight, though. Online sales as a proportion of all retailing reached 18 per cent. While not as high as March’s record-breaking increase of 22.3 per cent it is still a substantial increase and is showing us that consumers are still willing to make purchases, they have just switched to online shopping instead.
We can be thankful in these times that online retail is now an established form of commerce, and now even ‘a vital lifeline’ – as described by the UK’s Business Secretary, Alok Sharma, in a letter to the retail sector.
The boom versus the bust As a novel lifeline for consumers, many retailers are experiencing a boom in online sales from those ordering essentials or bored consumers stuck at home. Others, on the
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