The "New Normal" in Retail Industry

T he brick and mortar retail stores have been subjected to multitudinous challenges in past decade predominantly due to the advent of Omni-channel shopping avenues with focus on e-commerce. The ongoing global pandemic has exacerbated it further. There are some who are already writing obituary for the retail stores and then there are others who are taking the pandemic as the catalyst for its renaissance. This article attempts to provide a bird’s eye view of the impact made by the pandemic and then tries to recommend ways for a sustainable future for the retail industry as a whole.   C oVID-19, is an unprecedented global event which is having enormous social and economic impact on human lives & livelihoods. It has forced nations to close down all possible external human activities. Among other things, all physical avenues of shopping have been closed and majority of the commercial activities have come to a halt. It will take long to recover and the transition ...