Post-COVID strategies for retailers: Reopening stores has been saved
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Post-COVID strategies for retailers: Reopening stores
Rethink in-store and online customer experience
As ‘safer-at-home’ orders lift in various parts of the country and stores begin to reopen, retail executives should keep in mind key considerations from a customer, associate, store, and operational perspective. Retail store re-openings are accelerating the use of digital to re-think in-store and online customer experience and engagement.
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- This is bigger than a store opening, it’s your grand reopening
- Preparing to reopen and what changes may be ahead
- Join the conversation
This is bigger than a store opening, it’s your grand reopening
The effects of COVID-19 on the industry are profound and unprecedented. While it is critical for retailers to work through operational and tactical considerations to re-open retail stores, it is also an opportunity to re-examine who you are as a business, considering:
- Customer—How has your customer evolved during and after the crisis? What are their expectations, needs, behaviors, and priorities in this new environment?
- Brand—What is the purpose of your business, and how can you best serve customers? Do you need to evolve your value proposition to stay relevant? If so, how?
- Product—What are the key, best-selling products and high-interest categories your customers care about today? Is it the right time to consider new categories, new services, and new business models?
- Store—What is the impact on the store channel, its role, and the corresponding operations? How do you keep your customers and associates safe, while playing a new role in customers’ lives?
Preparing to reopen and what changes may be ahead
Having a directional North Star with “good-enough” plans is enough to get started quickly, with the intention of learning and refining over time.
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Store reopening is fundamentally different in every way
Be prepared to pivot and react while also considering changes to your business model from assessing in-store demand, to running retail stores with new operational processes, and mobilizing people and technology to execute.
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Customers’ values and behaviors have likely changed
Who your customers are and how their shopping behavior has changed can have significant impact on demand and should be considered as inputs in demand models. Customers may return to shopping in different ways and at different speeds. Income security might weigh on consumers’ minds; our recent survey shows immediate financial concerns skew young, with 33 percent of individuals ages 18–34 concerned about making future payments (Source: Deloitte Global State of the Consumer Tracker, April 29, 2019).
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Stores will likely play a different role in the customer journey
As customers return to the store, they should expect a safe and risk-free environment, where they will likely spend less time browsing and be laser-focused in their search, seeking to minimize contact with both products and people.
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Reopening efforts have already started—Lay the tracks while the train is moving
Retailers may want to create a nerve center to get to a “minimum viable store” opening plan for day 1 and multiple day 1’s across regions. Beyond that, create data and feedback loops for stores to quickly evaluate and evolve approach.