Post-COVID Retail Models

Stores with walls aren’t dead, agreed the four retail experts and strategists during the In Conversation webinar about the retail models of the future, but the form they take has to change to realistically compete with their digital rivals. The key consideration: The distinction between buying and shopping. Retailers and beauty brands alike must understand the act of buying as a low-consideration, task-driven transaction, and shopping as a discovery process often involving emotion. Any in-store, online or omnichannel model must be true to its purpose, whether for value-oriented convenience retailers like Amazon and Walmart, or premium specialty retailers curating unique assortments.