PERSPECTIVES

You managed the "Pandemic Pivot." So, now what?

A little chaotic, isn't it?

• Have you shopped in a grocery store lately? Noticed the priority parking spaces reserved for the "professional shoppers?" Or observed those folks darting about the store, staring at their phones, often filling two grocery carts? 
   
• Or, maybe you've attended (or plan to attend) a trade show this year. Did you find a "hybrid experience?" That is, a combination of the remote experience – Zoom sessions, special apps, etc – with some live, more traditional elements? Did exhibitors tout their online ordering capabilities? Did you keep having the feeling that something was missing? (Or wondering why you had shown up in person?)
   
• Have you gone into a store, and encountered rows of racks of packages awaiting pickup by customers, or more likely, a delivery driver?
   
• Or, alternatively, gone into a store to pickup an online order for yourself, and been dispatched to the far reaches of the store?

You likely have experienced some of these dilemmas from the customer side. So you know how annoying or unsatisfactory it can be. 

But you also are living that dilemma from the retailer's side. 

"Buy low. Sell high. Collect early. Pay late."

That's the essence of retailing, right? But now, in the early summer of 2021, retailing more than ever demands a strong dose of good judgment.

It's shouted everywhere: "Look out! The inflation tsunami is coming!"

Yikes! It's buying season for many retailers, and the pressures to buy more, now, at these-low-prices-that-won't-last are mounting. And this is only the beginning.

Being the owner of a business always has pluses and minuses. Usually the pluses outnumber the minuses. But maybe not so much right now.

If you feel that way, you've got a lot of company. Ugh! But hang on; maybe we have a perspective that you'll find useful and timely. It's called "Misery loves company!"

First, consider where we are. Early July, just past a nice Fourth of July Holiday weekend. The summer and early fall look promising, both for getting "back to normal" and for some leisure hours in the hammock. Nice, eh?

But there are those dark clouds out there. 

For some time, conventional wisdom has characterized independent retailers as "technology laggards."

Not that they are Luddites; it's just that they regarded retail technology as a major expense, especially in human capital. They often were cautious, even skeptical, about the promises of new technology being pitched to them.

When the pandemics arrived, many retailers responded rapidly and smartly. In scramble mode, some crammed five years of technology adoption into five months!

Now, as the lockdown restrictions recede, the conventional wisdom eagerly suggests that consumers of all ages will continue to rely on online shopping and other technology. 

Hmm. Let's consider that "conventional wisdom" a bit more closely. 

This is, after all, The Retail OWNERS Institute. We long have specialized in alerting, coaxing, and applauding retail owners worldwide. 

Today's message is a major heads-up. 

Keeping pace with the relentless changes in retailing has never been easy. Retailers know that constant adjustments are demanded. 

Then, the three pandemics of 2020 happened: COVID; the economic meltdown; the social unrest.  And life changed modestly or enormously for almost everyone, including owners of retail businesses. 

As we emerge from the pandemics, many retailers are eager to grow. (How's that for an understatement?!)

• For some, that simply means having a better year than 2019 (because 2020 was such a disaster), and they relish having survived.
• Others are looking to expand by adding locations, whether by acquisition of existing stores, or taking advantage of vacated retail sites. 
• Still others are focused on expanding their newly-established e-commerce capabilities. 
• And, for some, still other imaginative ways.

Trade shows are opening up with great success and eager buyers. Landlords are eager to fill vacancies, and in many instances, to cut deals. Vendors are eager to quit thinking about supply chain problems and start selling their merchandise, especially at trade shows. Plus, the continued growth and expansion of online wholesale marketplaces makes far more product available to retailers. 

Then there is the access to capital. Lots of money is floating around out there

All in all, it creates an environment of exuberance. "Seize the opportunity" is the rallying cry. Indeed, for some retailers, FOMO – that Fear Of Missing Out – is pushing them to make some major decisions. 

Another real challenge of 2021 is rearing its head: Whatever you used to do in terms of managing your staff likely will not work this year. 

• Not only are the owners exhausted from dealing with 2020, but so too are your employees.
• What took the greatest toll? All the uncertainty for everybody.
• Plus, many folks are revisiting their priorities: what is it really worth to them to work in retail? Especially given other choices they have become aware of.

In the aftermath of the pandemics, lockdowns, stimulus payments, low unemployment, and minimum wage increases, finding and keeping good employees is even more daunting for independent retailers.

If 2020 was the year of pandemic disruption and scramble-to-survive mode for retailers, 2021 may be the year of relentless Retail Is Detail reminders.

Many of you may well have benefitted from one or more rounds of PPP loans and their potential "forgiveness." Now comes the reminders that you must seek forgiveness. In writing. From the bank that  loaned you the funds. And there are some time deadlines involved. Yikes.

Oh, and total forgiveness may not be forthcoming. It depends. (See below for these guides* and disclaimers from the SBA.)

Then there are the so-called "bookkeeping details" surrounding all this.