Post-Pandemic Reemergence: Preparing for the New Abnormal

Among the systemic shocks COVID-19 has delivered to the retail and consumer world, particularly on the discretionary side, an entire season or more of merchandise has gone unsold in brick-and-mortar stores across the globe, unallocated in distribution centers, and even left half-produced in factories further up the supply chain. Indicative of that, U.S. retail sales in March 2020 plunged 8.7 percent, rescued from double-digit freefall only by the unprecedented sales lift the grocery sector experienced. Consumers have experienced their own multiple disruptions: their day-to-day lives, school schedules, working hours and in many cases furloughs and employment. Finances and their health and that of their loved ones are all up in the air. For many, the concept of shopping has shifted from a leisure activity or pure consumption to sustenance and survival. A Coresight Research report forecast that it would be September, 2020 before discretionary spending would start to approach pre-COVID-19 levels and level off in the ensuing months. For leaders of retail businesses, the unease, unknowability and pressure are just as fraught. Stores are shuttered, corporate personnel and sales associates have been furloughed or fired. Inventory is aging, capital is expended without the revenues to match, and day-to-day activities are being run

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