By Guy Elliott for Essential Retail on 16 June 2020

Due to the pandemic, stores worldwide were forced to close their doors, leaving unprecedented volumes of stocks untouched. As the lockdowns slowly start to end, stores can reopen. But reopening is one thing, convincing consumers to return to physical stores when they can shop conveniently and safely from home is an entirely different challenge. Retailers are going to have to balance the competing challenges of creating a compelling experience for their consumers, keeping consumers and employees safe and getting the volume through the stores that they need to be profitable. This will require retailers to rethink and reimagine how physical stores operate and, more importantly, it means a higher emphasis on customer experience, since experience is a key differentiating factor for brick and mortar stores.

article: Covid-19: It all comes down to experience for retailers in the new normal