The Era of "New Retail"

Crises became unexpected catalysts for retailers to jump onto the digital bandwagon to cope with the effects of market demand shocks. Although retail indicators for the rest of the year will unlikely be positive, there are opportunities for retailers and mall owners to take advantage of the lull period to reassess their value propositions and restructure business strategies to stay ahead when market lockdowns are lifted in phases.

Physical Retail Shopping Still Preferred

Physical transactions continued to account for the majority of retail sales from January to May 2020 (Exhibit 7), despite the circuit breaker earlier this year that encouraged online purchase behaviour. While online shopping offers convenience, physical shopping remains core to the quintessential retail experience for consumers.

Rules of the new playing field will change drastically – movement restrictions and social distancing will be the new norm, while businesses will need to offer omni-channel shopping platforms to engage customers better.

A matter of “do it now” and “do-it-fast.”

Retailers who have successfully deployed digital platforms will continue to enjoy substantial benefits in the long run.

Leveraging on analytics tools and big data will enable businesses to gain valuable insights on their customers, tracking consumer profiles, preferences, spending habits and other shopping behaviours to craft personalised shopping experiences. Geo-location data and analytics can help identify locations where customer traffic is most saturated at.

Retailers will gain a competitive edge in successfully incorporating both online and offline shopping experiences, demonstrating attentiveness to their customers’ preferences. Enhanced staff training will ensure service consistency across the virtual and physical spaces.

A robust brand communications and public relations strategy will go a long way in building brand loyalty, as well as strengthen the underlying emotional bond with customers.