massive acceleration of change . When the world locked down , consumers had to turn to ecommerce and many retailers confirm that their business is now in a place they hadn ’ t expected to be at for at least 3 to 5 years .
Research by ecommerce analytics experts at Edge by Ascential , shows that of the $ 802 billion of added retail sales globally from 2019-2020 , 87 % was accounted for by ecommerce .
What we see emerging from the winning retailers to emerge from this crisis is that their success starts with those retail leadership teams that realized very quickly that they needed to move faster than ever , to make big decisions , learn to fail but learn fast and to become visionaries and take the company on that journey . It is about bringing in new skills and talents at a time when it is getting harder and harder to recruit people . We have also entered a new era where technology and digital channels have become even more important .
Cutting across all of this is a critical focus on retail ’ s place in the fight to combat climate change which has risen to the top of the agenda for consumers , stakeholders , governments , employees and businesses themselves .
And then we can see how retailers are winning business and finding new ways of connecting with their customers . There is a critical focus on creating a true omnichannel experience . Ever faster delivery services are now the norm but as China is showing , this can be taken to a new level by retailers such as JD . com . Also from China , the growth in live streaming commerce is becoming a whole new channel , led by Alibaba . As stores reopen , their purpose and appeal have to be shaken-up radically . It is about putting the customer truly at the heart of every decision and every innovation .
As has often been said already , retail will not pick up where it left off at the beginning of 2020 when the crisis ends . Change will continue to accelerate and consumer expectations will be ever greater so with it , retailers will have to focus on constant transformation and innovation .
27TH NATIONAL RETAIL CONFERENCE & STORES ASIA EXPO 2021 AUGUST 12-13 , 2021 21