Retailers Face Different Set of Challenges in This Recession

Retailers face a different set of challenges for survival in this recession than they did in the 2008 Great Financial Crisis. In the prior recession, innovative retailers—particularly those that invested in an omnichannel platform—made it through the downturn. Today, retailers are navigating strict government restrictions and health and safety regulations. In many cases, retailers need to make customers feel safe to get them in-store and comfortable shopping.

“Today, retail stores are dealing with a very different reality. Owning and operating a retail business right now requires keeping consumers, visitors, and team members safe from coronavirus transmission while maintaining sales revenues,” Anthony Sanchez, newly appointed design director at Nadel Architecture + Planning, tells GlobeSt.com. “This means not only delivering that safe environment, but also conveying to everyone that it’s safe, enabling them to feel comfortable about going into that store, and attracting them to their brand.”

In the last recession on the other hand, retailers needed to adapt to new consumer needs and new technologies. “The retailers who survived the post-Great Recession era were the ones who were flexible, innovative, and able to adapt to the new demands of consumers, who wanted to be able to make purchases from virtually anywhere and have them in hand quickly,” says Sanchez. “While people still wanted to be able to visit brick-and-mortar stores, it became more for the experience of browsing and shopping, either alone or with friends and family, or because they needed the items immediately.”

This new demand sparked the omnichannel retail trend, which has largely dominated retail this last cycle. “Smart retailers developed a seamless shopping experience between their brick-and-mortar stores and online shopping, solidifying their brand identities and delivering excellent customer service, while providing beautiful and interesting spaces for people to gather, socialize, and shop,” says Sanchez.

Today, innovation looks different. Strategies like curbside pick-up and store layouts that encourage social distancing are a standard, but they are not necessarily conducive to the retail shopping experience. Still, many retailers are adopting new policies to adapt. “Many retailers have adopted new methods of serving customers and new health and safety practices, such as contactless curbside pickup at shopping centers, posting door signage about mask requirements, reconfiguring store layouts to prevent congregating and crowding, closing off or minimizing use of dressing rooms and seating areas, installing floor markers to control store traffic and remind people to socially distance, and installing plexiglass between employees and customers at point of purchase. Hand sanitizer has become ubiquitous at store entrances and checkout stands, and many retailers are even closing early or opening late to allow team members to sanitize stores more frequently.”