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The retail industry is in more need of revitalization than ever before. While the pandemic resulted in a huge shift to online shopping, stores need to re-evaluate their physical strategies. E-commerce spending will increase 18 percent this year as U.S. consumers spend $709 billion digitally, though brick-and-mortar spending, by comparison, is expected to fall 14 percent, according to eMarketer. Trends like "buy online, pickup in store" are on the rise. A recent report from TPN Retail, a creative commerce agency, found that 60 percent of shoppers who use "buy online, pickup in store" services do so to avoid lines and crowds; 52 percent use it to decrease the amount of time they spend inside a store.
At Ad Age Next: Retail, we take a look at such trends that were already underway well before the pandemic, and explore how COVID-19 has accelerated their progress. We also look at new strategies brought on solely by the coronavirus. Speakers from Ulta Beauty, Verizon and Mastercard discuss the store of the future, re-imagined with touchless interfaces, while representatives from Dick's Sporting Goods, Walmart and Work & Co. talk about the new challenges that come with an e-commerce experience. We look at changes at existing brands, and touch on how consumer behavior will be altered post-coronavirus.
The one-day virtual program also included a case study on successful brand marketing during the pandemic, and one-on-one chats with brand executives who are leading the charge into the post-coronavirus retail world.