Following the recently announced changes to the lockdown, retailers are busy preparing for a new normal.

Retailers will by nature become quickly and busily focused on operational stuff such as marking out two-metre spacing on the floor and working on safe distancing in warehouses.

But we should now be thinking about what life and business will look like in the longer term, not just in the coming months, and seeking to make changes that look to the future and exploit the unique moment to be radical.

There has been lots of attention devoted to some immediate areas of action:

  • There is a real opportunity now, while physical stores are shut, to build customer-centricity – to learn more about customers, their wants, their needs, and to work with them to build a better future;
  • There can be no running away or sticking your head in the sand about online versus physical shopping. Online demands are rapidly increasing with no signs of slowing down (and surely everyone is watching to see how Primark will respond to this);
  • And there is a duty of care to employees and suppliers. Consumers will be drawn to retailers that have done right by their staff and suppliers during the crisis as they lean towards a more sustainable way of living and shopping.

So how do retailers go about addressing these trends?

Big data and the importance of data analytics have been known for a while and should be finally taking a front-and-centre seat in strategy meetings.

Most retailers are sitting on a wealth of data – it may not be all the data that they want, or be 100% accurate or even that straightforward to analyse, but it’s a starting point and it’s powerful.

“Most retailers are sitting on a wealth of data”

There have been many examples in recent weeks of just how powerful data can be. Germany has been using its relentless resources to test and check individuals for Covid-19 at every opportunity to try and contain the virus, while Google and Apple’s recent partnership to analyse contact tracing is based on big data.

We at Elixirr have been using open data sources to create an interactive Covid-19 forecasting and business-planning tool. We realised in the very early days of the pandemic that data and powerful data analytics would empower businesses.

Let’s consider just a few ways in which data and data analytics can help with those prevalent trends.

Customer-centricity

Really get to know and wow your customer.

As consumers realise they can live with less, as they have done during lockdown, and may have less discretionary spend for the foreseeable future, there is increasing pressure on brands to deliver beyond expectations and personalise the shopping experience as they fight for their customers’ attention.

Airbnb, a high flyer in this field pre-pandemic, uses detailed granular data (including seasonality, minimum nights’ stay and booking lead times) to tailor the search experience demographically, and manage information to personalise results based on host and guest preferences. And Whole Foods has engineered a data-led chatbot to enhance the customer experience.

“There is increasing pressure on brands to deliver beyond expectations and personalise the shopping experience as they fight for their customers’ attention”

Online versus physical shopping

What really needs to be done to shift the balance of bricks and mortar versus online sales? Boohoo sources locally in the UK and has short lead times to be able to switch lines quickly depending on customer focus.

Analyse bestsellers, lead times of key items and logistics to see what part of your proposition can lend itself or adapt to a different business model such as Boohoo’s. Or improve the online sales experience using AR like John Lewis, Nike and Ikea to enable online visualisation.

Duty of care to employees and suppliers

This will need agility and flexibility as lockdown eases in different ways across geographies. What works in one location, or across one supply chain, won’t work in another.

However, data to help is available to those who seek it. Open data and analytical sites such as community mobility reports are showing how different communities in different geographies are moving differently because of the pandemic. And some companies are supporting employees with health incentives as welfare becomes an important concern.

“Analysing what we do know and using it to future-proof our businesses will be vital”

There may be uncertain times ahead, but data can help retailers through it. Analysing what we do know and using it to future-proof our businesses will be vital.

Start with the data that you already have and use established open data sources to enhance analytics and gain actionable insight. There is no time like the present to build a sustainable future.

Those businesses that do smartly use all of the data available to them will be the ones who survive in the years to come. For others, it will be seen as a missed opportunity.