A report by KPMG and Retailers Association of India indicates, there will be increased adoption of online shopping, contactless payments and consumers placing safety over price, range and convenience post COVID-19. Shoppers will return to physical stores over the next few months as India hits peak festive season. Hence, retailers should shift focus to in-store safety and convert existing businesses to delivery-oriented ones, apart from tying up with delivery and logistics service providers in order to provide direct-to-home services.
According to the report entertainment, physical shopping, dining out could see a surge with gradual opening up of physical marketplaces. Harsha Razdan, Partner and Head, Consumer Markets and Internet Business, KPMG, though there will be uptick in demand, it will restricted to categories such as durables and apparel. According to him, demand will taper off again in January till the vaccine comes, and the job situation improves.
Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, RAI, says an assurance of no localized lockdowns will fast-track recovery of sales during the upcoming festive season to almost the same levels as last year or perhaps just 20 per cent short of last year’s figures. This will prompt offline retailers to expand their direct to consumer reach, by upping investments online and expanding omni-channel reach.
