The pandemic hasn't disrupted the retail market; it has only accelerated existing trends. Omni-channel has been the biggest trend in retail, and many brands that already had a strong omni-channel platform are thriving during this period of disruption. In many ways, those retailers have also had to make minimal changes to respond to the new market demand.

"A lot of the people that we are seeing do well now have a history of promoting and developing the omni-channel brand and platform," Mike Moran, VP at Black Creek Group, tells GlobeSt.com. "If you had an early start and had the infrastructure in place for omni-channel, then you have done much better during the pandemic. I think that trend is one that won't go away post-COVID. The convenience of the omni-channel model is going to be here in a meaningful way for the future."

Brands like Best Buy, Walmart and many household name grocery stores are examples of omni-channel platforms supporting business through the pandemic. Target is one retailer that Black Creek has followed closely to track business changes. "Pre-pandemic, Target had a number of investor presentations that focused on by online and pick-up in store," says Moran. "They started a store renovation program that divided the store into two sections, one that was more convenient for pick-up items and another that was for the long-duration shopping trip. We have obviously seen Target do exceptionally well through the pandemic."