By Matt Rubel Dec. 15, 2020 10:00 am ET Changes have been coming to the retail sector for years. But in 2020, with the onslaught of the Covid-19 pandemic, the industry received a ticket to the Fury 325 roller coaster.
So if overall revenues are increasing, where have all the shoppers gone? Clearly, we as Americans are still spending, but not on hotels, airplanes or eating out. E-commerce sales have continued to rise by double digits all year, although they have leveled off a bit since the pandemic hit hardest in April. And we’ve significantly increased spending on the areas in which we’re spending most of our time these days: our homes.
Third, the brands we love are changing, and the standards we judge them by are evolving. Consumers are starting to consider where and how the goods they buy are made. Consumers are asking: What are the core values of the retailer and the brand, and do they align with my worldview? There is much talk in the area of values-based sustainability, and it continues to grow in importance. The new status is becoming the ability to signal virtue, not just the ability to spend.
Live streaming has taken off in China and will accelerate here in the U.S. as retailers use it to advertise, sell products and train employees, among other things. This will have a real impact on our shopping habits. Since the start of the pandemic, Facebook Inc. has released a native shopping platform for small businesses, and TikTok has taken on Walmart Inc. as a major-stake investor—demonstrating the centrality of retail to the virtual world’s bottom line.
And if Americans don't have money, they will spend it anyway. And then complain they have not prepared for retirement.
3d printing now used to produce homes medical prosthetics aerospace parts tools offer control pf production change in markets work and lifestyle
Tech give us chance to separate work and income. 3D printing productions of goods tax funded incomes based on consumer sales
What did 2020 teach us about WSJ? They are a participant in the liberal dead media. Sad.
thank you very much for your work
Not sure it took 2020 to discover this
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