Retail was on an online digital trajectory way before COVID. Let’s remember the many large retailers that disappeared or are still struggling. COVID did make matters worse and accelerated the demise of some of these retailers. As society becomes more digital it is natural that online shopping becomes THE shopping behavior.

This article by HBR (What Will the Retail Experience of The Future Look Like) brings come good points to light about the changing future nature of retail: It’s focused on physical shopping experiences, and I love the idea of pop-ups! The big question is if we will be evolving into a remote shopping, digital community, OR, are we going to need to reconfigure physical shopping to accommodate COVID concerns?

My take: We began to evolve as a society once we realized the efficiency, choice, and personalization that online shopping gave us, pre-pandemic included. Creative pop-up options will draw shoppers to get engaged with retailers, but if retailers don’t Re-Think retail, get out of their own way to evolve, their future is in danger. Not just because retail shopping is not going to be fun for a long time, but because the benefits of online shopping are too good to give up. What do you think?