With the holiday shopping season officially behind us, the beginning of a new year is the perfect time for reflection. As a result of COVID-19, retailers have been challenged by store shutdowns, social distancing guidelines and concerned customers, and shifts in retail and customer behaviors will undoubtedly continue in the coming months and beyond. Fortunately, our Global Retail Consulting Practice is here to help. Now more than ever, this group of experts draws upon their collective retail experience, new retail trends and an unsurpassed reservoir of stores and shopping center-related analytics to provide key insights that can help retailers and shopping center operators improve their business through the lens of in-store traffic, inventory analytics and asset protection statistics.

We spoke with Brian Field, senior director of global retail consulting at Sensormatic Solutions, for his insights on lessons learned from COVID-19, the unique holiday shopping season we just encountered and his predictions on what’s to come.

Over the past 10 months, we’ve really noticed the impact of purposeful in-store shopping. Our consumer survey revealed that consumers are going to stores less and making the most out of every trip. This was backed by the drop in overall in-store traffic through the holiday season, coupled with consistency in overall conversion rates.

Another lesson learned was the importance of inventory intelligence. As more customers rely on fulfillment options like buy online, pickup in store (BOPIS) and curbside pickup for their orders, there’s never been more of a need for retailers to have up-to-the-minute inventory data and be prepared to successfully fulfill orders.

COVID-19 will have a lasting impact on the industry if for no other reason than the acceleration of online shopping trends. Retailers will continue to re-think how their stores operate to drive in-store traffic and to provide optimal customer experiences for the many in-store pickup options that tie back to online purchases.

Speaking of online, consumers will continue to research, browse and shop. Technology will be the piece of the puzzle to prevail this year. For example, we’ve already seen some retailers pivot to touch-free shopping and virtual shopping sessions to meet the needs of customers when visiting the physical store isn’t a top priority. It will be interesting to see how other retailers adapt and advance in the coming year to meet the everchanging needs in the retail world with the use of technology.

With more customers turning to BOPIS and curbside pickup during the pandemic, retailers need to think of new ways to merge the in-store experience with these services. Now more than ever, retailers need to make sure they have the technology in place to effectively implement these strategies, and they’ll need advanced in-store traffic and labor data to properly execute.

We can help retailers in a variety of areas to boost their bottom lines, including operations, labor, real estate, marketing, customized coaching tools and analytics.

On average, our retailers have seen a 2% - 7% increase in sales per shopper during pilots by implementing at least two of the above areas. Whether it’s labor optimization or streamlining store inventory accuracy practices, it’s our mission to ensure retailers are best prepared for the present and future.

Short and simple: unparalleled visibility. We’re very excited about the recent launch of Sensormatic IQ, an intelligent operating platform for retail designed to provide unmatched insights into all of the above to drive improved retail operations and the shopper experience. In addition, this platform helps retailers future-proof their operations for years to come through its open and agile platform.

Prospective clients can sign up for a free complimentary session where they’ll meet with our expert retail consultants to discuss their business and work together to build strategic options and frameworks that are best suited for the business.

Preparing for success in the year ahead is critical, and it starts with a bottom-up approach. To learn more about how Sensormatic Solutions can help you with best practices, book a meeting with the team during NRF 2021 (January 19, 21-22) here.