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Some say retail will never be the same, others say we can come out of the pandemic stronger than ever. Fact is retail has changed significantly. So where do we go from here?
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t the beginning of this year retailers were dealing with the raging bushfires and the ongoing drought, however, in the beginning of March the whole world changed as the coronavirus took hold and spread very quickly. Governments started to close the borders and lock down cities and states, something that many businesses hadn’t dealt with before. Unprecedented times asked for measures and restrictions never implemented before. [Fast] forward to August and we are still in the midst of the pandemic. Melbourne has just gone into a second, even stricter, lockdown with many businesses including retailers having to close their doors for at least six weeks. Is this sustainable? Where do we go from here? One thing is for sure, retail won’t be the same as it was just six months ago with social distancing restrictions in place and strict hygiene measures to follow. Indeed, social distancing has changed life as we know it. Service Integrity, a mystery shopping and research company, recently published Covid-19 nationwide retail survey results. The study was conducted to answer the questions many retailers are asking about new world buying behaviours. Of the 680 respondents, only 18 per cent of people said Covid-19 would not affect their buying habits but 41 per cent said the changes would be as significant or change their habits completely. The results are similar for men and women, but 29 per cent of young people (18-25) believe their buying habits will change completely, whereas only 12 per cent of the 50+ group believe their buying habits will change completely. Sixty-two per cent of people are not confident in crowded locations. There is a significant difference between men and women, 55 per cent of 38 giftguideonline.com.au
men are not confident whereas 65 per cent of women are not comfortable in crowded locations. The least confident people are those in states where Covid flareups have occurred with 89 per cent of Tasmanians and 67 per cent of Victorians not confident, but only 54 per cent of people in WA lacking confidence in crowded spaces. Lack of confidence and restrictions has changed our online buying habits significantly. Thirty-six per cent of people have diverted some spending to online. The move is most pronounced for people earning over $150,000 per year where 46 per cent of respondents have diverted to online. Again, the states with the Covid-19 flare-ups have the biggest diversion to online with 44 per cent of Tasmanians and 41 per cent of Victorians diverting online, but only 18 per cent of South Australians and 29 per cent of West Australians diverting online. Overall, 37 per cent of people will now shop more online with 52 per cent of those earning over $150,000 per year and only 33 per cent of those earning under $50,000 per year increasing online spend. Unsurprisingly, 64 per cent of those under 25 years of age will increase their online spending but only 30 per cent of the over 50s choose to do so. The impact on future retailing is seismic, says Steven Di Pietro, Service Integrity research and mystery shopping. “Across all sectors the change will affect at least 30 per cent of people, whether it be by age, income, gender or even location. Most importantly, if retailers want to maintain their retail stores against this force, they must give consumers confidence that public places will be safe. “Retailers need to go over the top by showing they respect the customer’s concerns and safety. As the rules are being re-written,