Old Retail
Physical stores are forever
E-commerce will not replace brick and mortar retail
Brick and mortar small businesses are here to stay, as the pandemic will not replace them with online stores. After the 1918 influenza epidemic, businesses returned to normal.
Experts have predicted that traditional marketing would die, universities and colleges would close and the office would be dead. People predicted that eating out, shopping, working out would change forever. The past trends prove that pandemic’s long term effect will not be permanent. Before the pandemic, 15% of retail sales happened online. It reached 25%. Still 75% of the people buy in brick and mortar stores.
Marketer and speaker Scott wrote, “During the 11 weeks that I spent in isolation here in Tel Aviv, I bought nearly everything online and had it delivered. But I am not the market. Marketers are not the average person.”
He suggested that businesses should not succumb to the mass hysteria. Focus on the changes in the overall industry with regards to the downturn. Other than changes in health codes and regulation most of the changes should go away. Do not go digital if it is not necessary.
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