…we are going shopping. There’s a lot of pent up enthusiasm to shop inside stores again, and with vaccinations being broadly distributed the opportunity will become common again. We hope. We’d like to window shop, and stroll down to a food court possibly, but we’ll still keep that Prime account with Amazon.
A recent Lisa A. Miller & Associates survey finds it’s the thing we are looking forward to most. When asked what they will immediately resume when conditions allow, this was the responses people expressed:
37% Shopping in-store retailers
31% Dining in at a restaurant
30% Attending a in person gathering with friends/families
29% Attending in church in person
George Anderson, Editor in Chief of Retail Wire, doesn’t think there will be a huge uptick in purchasing, or how we purchase, and doesn’t expect shoppers to return to stores in significant numbers any time soon, but we might get a little touchy-feely in our shopping in ways that have been recently denied. Online shopping popularity has been steadily increasing for years, especially with younger shoppers, but Covid made it a cross-generational habit likely to endure. “Particularly among older people, who may not have been as used to shopping online. They had to get used to it because they were at greater risk,” he tells KTRH News. He says there are clear winners. “The one stop shops. The Walmarts, Target, Costco are stronger now and will likely continue to gain shares.” Anderson says the convenience of online grocery shopping with curbside pickup will likely endure. Shopping paradigms shifted during the pandemic and convenience has opened avenues for both retailers and consumers that won’t be fully appreciated until all options are again available.
photo: Getty Images