We are nearing the end of 2020, and hundreds of books can be written with all the stories that this pandemic has generated worldwide and the great impact at all levels, from the social, economic, cultural point of view, etc.
But as in any problem, there are always positive and negative points that balance the balance, generate new patterns of behavior, and bring new paradigms to be overcome.
Given this perspective, I believe that the great contribution of the pandemic was to take a technological leap, which advanced the changes in more than a decade, from the generation of new shopping patterns using new digital tools, as well as to brands and establishments in offering more creative and effective alternatives and strategies.
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Some palpable examples that we see in the United States that I believe will continue to be in use after the COVID-19 pandemic are:
- Restaurants: it has become the norm to use the smartphone to scan the code that takes you to the menu, which now brings savings to establishments in letter printing, and those who go beyond that, from the same platform can generate their order purchase, have explanatory videos of each dish and obtain more information from the client to follow up and generate that he returns to consume on another occasion.
- Brands: The vast majority of brands did not have in their strategy to generate eCommerce actions; on the contrary, their focus was only on the point of sale and hopefully having their website slightly updated. Now we see leading brands exploring sales platforms, seeing how to make a bigger sale from market places like Amazon or Walmart.com to finding better visuals on Instacart to appear at the time the consumer is shopping for groceries in line, either to pick it up at the store or have it delivered to your home.
- Supermarkets: These consumer centers have had to integrate with online ordering platforms to move their inventories creatively. The drop in consumers at the point of sale was drastic, which translates into not having impulse sales, consuming only what is needed or remembered. This transition also generated the reorganization of its work teams in accepting third-party employees who are the “buyers” of the online platforms, who walk through the store’s aisles, putting together orders for their customers.
Post-pandemic consumption patterns will be marked by immediacy, the search for better content that explains the products to be consumed, and how the community’s opinion will influence these decisions.
The traditional shopping that we were used to has changed forever. Store spaces and the way we attract consumers will also need new resources applied to the experience that both brands and points of sale can offer virtually to consumers.