More American Covid cases could hinder economic recovery. Retail foot traffic is way down due to past lock-downs and people's fear of public places. John Kelly, CEO of brick-and-mortal retail marketing firm Zenreach says April was the worst. "We hit our lowest point in April and lock-downs were in play. Foot traffic into retail establishments was down 75% year over year."
The governor says lock-downs are not in our near future... but still with a recent rise in positive cases, recovery may be long in coming. Kelly says, "I think it's really going to come down to the vaccine. Once that is distributed, we will see foot traffic start to return." Kelly says although holiday online buying will be greater than that it was last year - brick and mortar will be far below.
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Even after stores and restaurants opened up, some consumers are still fearful of shopping and eating out. Kelly has suggestions for those shoppers. "Look for those merchants who are engaging in the best Anti-Covid practices. And when you go shopping is important, too. There are times when retail is the slowest - for example, Sunday morning before noon."
Kelly says online shopping is higher than it was in pre-Covid days and has some advice for the hurting retailers. "You want to make sure you are practicing the highest safety protocol to help your consumers. And identify those consumers and then market to them - primarily online."
According to Kelly, the success of Covid vaccines will boost retail business tremendously - but not in time for this holiday season,