PERMANENT MODIFICATIONS
I don’t think we should shake hands ever again, to be honest with you,
If you’re waiting for the pandemic to end so that life will get back to “normal,” don’t hold your breath. Makeshift practices that accompany a crisis often become standard operating procedure when it’s over. Consider lockdown drills instituted after Columbine, and removing your shoes in airport security lines since 9/11. Here, experts pinpoint some of COVID’s lingering after effects.
Shopping malls have been slowly dying.
But the trend accelerated during COVID when footfall dropped to 49 percent, says foot-trafficanalytics firm Placer.ai. As a result, even normally well-performing malls are retooling leases and recruiting a new mix of tenants, including non-retail businesses. “The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated
10 key technology trends,
including digital payments, telehealth and robotics,” proclaims the World Economic Forum. “They are playing a crucial role in keeping our society functional in a time of lockdowns and quarantines, and may have a long-lasting impact beyond COVID 19.”
said Dr. Anthony Fauci in April. Popular alternatives to the handshake include a head nod, foot tap, peace sign, and the namaste greeting – hands over the heart in prayer pose and a little had bow. No touching.
Buying versus shopping The concept that physical retail is about shopping, not buying will continue to expand, said Mitch Joel, a speaker at the National Retail Federation’s 2021 virtual show. As brick-and-mortar retailers figure out how to make the in-store experience more of a buying experience, online retailers are learning how to create more of a shopping experience using video and chat. “The retailers who succeed will successfully blend shopping and buying experiences,” he said.
Building the necessary infrastructure
to support a digitized world and stay current in the latest technology will be essential for any business or country to remain competitive in a post-COVID-19 world, says the World Economic Forum.
There is no getting back to normal. Thomas Davenport told CNN. “The sooner we accept that, the better.” The President’s Distinguished Professor of Information Technology and Management at Babson College says that people who don’t – including some who refuse to wear masks – have a condition called normalcy bias. “They want life to go back to the way it was rather than figuring out how to deal with what’s ahead.”
For brick-andmortar stores, health, well-being, and safety are now table stakes, says Colin Stewart, executive vice president of business intelligence at Acosta. “Social distancing, touch-free and transparency will continue to drive the way we live our lives and the way we shop.”
8 January 2021 — EducationalDealerMagazine.com
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