1、 Beata Rycharski Rupender MalikRetails New NormalHow retail needs to evolve in 2020RETAILS NEW NORMAL:HOW RETAIL NEEDS TO EVOLVE IN 2020|2Retails New Normal TheglobalCOVID-19 pandemic hasalreadyhad a profound and lasting impact onthe retail industry.Seemingly overnight,may retailersclosedphysical st

2、ores,furloughedtheir employees,andrushedtoactivate(or develop)business continuity plans.Aswe enter the stabilization phase retail leadersmay betemptedto wonder whenthings willget back to normal.A better question toask is:how can my organization be betterprepared to reactquicklytoasudden changein mar

3、ket conditions?Things are unlikely toreturnto normal,but is it likely that there will be future events,big and small,that will cause market shifts.Retailers whocanreact quickly,glean necessary insights,and translate those intomaking strategic adjustmentswillgain a competitive advantage.Likewise,an a

4、ccelerated pushto digitize will enable a new level of organizationalagility,cost efficiency,and ability to engage customersin this new age of no contact way of doing business.The current stay-at-home restrictions willend,but consumer sentiment may continue to be influenced by anxiety of public inter

5、action and a preference to buy online.The following are key areas of any retailers business model that need to be evaluated with astrongbias for agility and digital enablementto successfully adapt to a new normal in retail.RETAILS NEW NORMAL:HOW RETAIL NEEDS TO EVOLVE IN 2020|3digital engagementHow

6、can you engage and delight your customers online?People are stuck in their homes and are more plugged into their digital devices than ever looking for inspiration,connection,and entertainment.Their journey may not start with the intent of buying a productretailers need to understand how their custom

7、ers online journey may bechanging andadapt the content and experience to engage customers in new ways.For retailerswhosestores are closed,how can you bring the best of the store online?Many customers enjoy the benefits of a personal interaction with a stylist,the rich experience of feeling the fabri

8、c,or seeing how a beauty product looks when applied to skin.Innovative solutions from virtual showrooming,live video product demos,and AR solutions to visualize products in your home,enable creating a richer and more interactive digital experience that fills the gap online.How can you create a sense

9、 of community online?For digital native retailers this is a natural strategy,and many are well on their way in leveraging social and their own digital content to create virtual communities and interactive experiences.Retailers whove optimized for brick and mortar experiences need to change their foc

10、us and bring those experiences online.Consider live online cooking demos,make up tutorials,trunk shows,who wore it best contests with actual customers inviting an interactive experience.Technology makes all of this possible and increases your geographic reach.Your employees know your customers,invit

11、e them to innovate and create interactive digital experience that engage and delight your customers.RETAILS NEW NORMAL:HOW RETAIL NEEDS TO EVOLVE IN 2020|4 What does your brand stand for?These are unprecedented times when communities are pulling ever closer together and supporting local businesses a

12、nd companies that are investing in helping sustain communities.Many companies started campaigns to give products to health care professionals or manufacture in-demand equipment like face masks.Retailers should lead with their brand mission and highlight efforts to source locally,manufacture sustaina

13、bly,and support local communities.While true for local brands,this is also an opportunity for global brands.RETAILS NEW NORMAL:HOW RETAIL NEEDS TO EVOLVE IN 2020|5flexible payment optionsUncertain economic and employment outlook is causing consumers to pull back on discretionary spending.Buy now&pay

14、 later,installment payment plans,and payment forgiveness insurance are some of the solutions retailers can offer to incentivize shoppers to buy now rather than waiting.Several flexible payment solution providers offer easy integrations directly into a retailers checkout path to support these flexibl

15、e payment models.What type of payment options do you offer your customers online?There is evidence that offering installment payment options or buy now pay later increases AOV as well as conversion.Buy now,pay later solutions such as Klarna,QuadPay and Affirm have been in use for several years but w

16、ere most popular abroad and among big ticket retailers in the US such as furniture and electronics but recently many fashion and consumer goods retailers started offering these solutions to draw in a wider demographic.Consider your target customer demographic and your average order value to determin

17、e if offering more flexible payment options is desirable and likely to drive additional conversion.RETAILS NEW NORMAL:HOW RETAIL NEEDS TO EVOLVE IN 2020|6no contact deliveryNo contact has quickly entered the retail vernacular and retailers across sectors are rushing to design and deploy no contact c

18、urb side pick-up and deliveryoptions.Customers will flex new muscles and learn new habits that will persist beyond the pandemicmaking no touchdelivery and curb sidepick upa trend that is here to stay.Do you offer a buy online,pick up in store option for your customers?No contact curb side pick-up is

19、 quickly emerging as the new version of BOPIS(buy online,pick up in store)for retailers with a brick and mortar presence.Aworking BOPIS solution can be easilyadapted to meet the new no touch guidelines tominimizehumancontact byconsidering the physical logistics of the customer interaction during pic

20、k up.Map the no contact customer journey to fully understand how to mitigatethe safety risks for your customers and employees and ensurea positive and re-assuringcustomersexperience.For retailers who have not invested in BOPIS,the time is now.RETAILS NEW NORMAL:HOW RETAIL NEEDS TO EVOLVE IN 2020|7 N

21、o contact delivery is standard for some retail sectors.The package is delivered via a carrier and left on the customersdoor stepor in abuilding lobby.For other sectors,such as grocery andtake out diningthe delivery model is changing to offer the customer options ranging fromin persondoor delivery,no

22、 contact curb side delivery or no contact door drop off delivery.Enabling online payment at the time of order is an important step in enabling no contact delivery options.Another no contact solution thats worth considering especially for retailers who have stores and an idle workforce islast mile co

23、ncierge services-leveraging store employees for just in time last mile delivery.This could be especially relevant for product categories that require customization or tailoring services,or even to facilitate exchanges for a different size or color without thetime consumingprocess of shipping somethi

24、ng back and re-purchasing.Retailers that innovate and offer unique and personalized benefits are likely to inspire customerloyalty.RETAILS NEW NORMAL:HOW RETAIL NEEDS TO EVOLVE IN 2020|8buy planning&forecastingGlobal markets have shifted significantly since the spread of COVID-19globally andwill con

25、tinue to shift for months to come.Buy and demand planning needs to be more responsive to fast changing consumer shopping patterns as well as thedisruptions tothe global supply chain.Does thecadenceofyourbuy and financial planning cycleenable a quick response to changing market conditions?How much of

26、 your planning is manual?Evaluate yourprocesses,vendor contracts,andenabling technologyand look for opportunities to automate.Even small investments in automation will save cost,reduce complexity,and most importantly increase both speed and flexibility in your planning cycle.Do you have the necessar

27、y data and analytics to pull in most current shopping/returnspatterns as inputs into buy/plan decisions?Historical trends are not a good reference point for the current environmentand not a sound predictor of the short to medium term consumer sentiment.Todays ML and AI capabilities enable a view of

28、changing consumerbehaviorthat canenable predictive analytics capability to uncover changing trends in your customers buying behavior and help you forecast short to medium term demand.Diversification,is your supply chain overly reliant on a single manufacturer,a single region,or a single distributor?

29、Consider if you can source similar products more locallyconsumer sentiment has been trending towards a buy-local preference and in the wake of COVID-19consumers are likely going to continue to want to support their local communities.RETAILS NEW NORMAL:HOW RETAIL NEEDS TO EVOLVE IN 2020|9product avai

30、lability&fulfillmentCurrent market conditions are creating excess inventory scenarios for some productcategoriesand shortages for others.Now more than ever,retailers need real time omnichannel inventory visibility and flexibility to fulfill from anywhere to anywheretomeet customers demand especially

31、 as distribution networks experience unusual bottlenecksand disruptions.Ability tofulfillcustomersorders quickly andsafelyis even more of a competitive advantage now and investmenthere will have a good ROI well beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.Many retailers hard allocate inventory to their online chann

32、elseparated from store inventory and lack true omni-channel visibility in real-timeor ability to fulfill cross channels.Do you have true real-time inventory visibility across all physical and digital channels?Many modern distributed ordermanagementsystems provide this capability nativelya technology

33、 assessment canhelpyou understand if you have the right building blocks to unlock true real-time omni-channel visibility.How automated is yourwarehouse?Roboticsfor re-stocking and product picking have been the hype for a while,now may be the time to take a closer look.Robotic solutions provides a no

34、 contact way of fulfilling online orders,giving retailers speed(robots can work 24/7/365)and theflexibility to supplement andramp up/downawork force during demand spikesor unpredictable times such as a pandemic that impacts the safety of your workforce.RETAILS NEW NORMAL:HOW RETAIL NEEDS TO EVOLVE I

35、N 2020|10returnsWith the closure of stores,more customers will leverage a retailers online returns process.In the past retailers focused on making returns cost effective,but in todays market more than ever a flexible and easy online returns process is a competitive advantagethat will drive customer

36、loyalty.There is mounting evidence that customers would not return to a retailer with a difficult returns process,but on the other hand according toNarvar96%of those surveyed said a positive returns experience would prompt them to visit a merchant again.Evaluate your return policy against your compe

37、titors,how does it compare?Many retailers dont review their return policy or the return customer journey frequently and treat this as an afterthought.There is increasing evidence that customers prefer to buy from retailers who offer a no hassle return policy.Do you require a customer to pay for ship

38、ping returns?Can a customer initiate a return online and print a label?With many stores closed and customers unable to drop off returns,making online returns easy will instill confidence with your customers removing friction from a buying decision.Explore additional options to remove friction with r

39、eturns.Understand your customers journey and consider offeringhelpfulfeatures:instant credit in customers accounts when returns are initiated,an exchange option if a customer needs a different size or color of the same productremoving the need for a refund/charge from the process.These features enco

40、urage customers to find a better option for what they need on your website rather than your competitors.RETAILS NEW NORMAL:HOW RETAIL NEEDS TO EVOLVE IN 2020|11Retail will make a comeback,but it will be different.Will you be ready?Retail is going through a fundamental change as a result of the COVID

41、-19 pandemic.While some sectors like grocery and fitness thrive,consumers have pulled back on many discretionary purchases and are learning new ways of interacting due to social distancing orders.It will be months before the economy and any normalcy begin to emerge out of this crisis.Many retailers

42、have hit pause on investment and are focused solely on cost cutting measures to wait out the pandemic until they can open stores again and get back to normal.That strategy alone is shortsighted,retail as we know it will not get back to normal.Some retailers will see this as opportunity to innovate,a

43、utomate,digitize,evolve their business models and capture new market share.Even small investments can make a difference in a retailers ability to emerge leaner and more competitive,for those that take the leap and use this crisis as an opportunity to truly transform the rewards will be much greater.

44、RETAILS NEW NORMAL:HOW RETAIL NEEDS TO EVOLVE IN 2020|12about SlalomSlalom is a modern consulting firm focused on strategy,technology,and business transformation.In over 35 markets across the US and around the world,Slaloms teams have autonomy to move fast and do whats right.Theyre backed by regiona

45、l innovation hubs,a global culture of collaboration,and partnerships with the worlds top technology providers.Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Seattle,Slalom has organically grown to over 8,000 employees.Slalom was named one of Fortunes 100 Best Companies to Work For in 2020 and is regularly rec

46、ognized by employees as a best place to work.Learn more at .about the authorsBeata RycharskiBeata Rycharski leads Slalom Seattles Retail Practice and is a seasoned retail consultant with over 20 years in the online travel and fashion retail industries.She is passionate about helping retailers build

47、engaging customer experiences.Get in touch with Beata:Rupender MalikRupender Malik is a retail strategist with a focus on supply chain,merchandizing,and omnichannel as an Enterprise Architect and engineering leader.Rupender has deep knowledge of how to bring the best of technology to remove friction in designing compelling solutions for internal retail teams and seamless experiences for customers.Get in touch with Rupender: