Chicago retail, including other iconic shopping destinations, looked like a war zone this week – not a major market poised to re-open after months of closures. This week was supposed to be the next re-opening phase in Illinois – not another setback that some retailers…
What the last recession can tell us about this one… The Covid-19 virus has stressed – with a few notable exceptions – all retailers. Over the last decade, Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) brands were heralded as successful disruption stories that lay bare the inadequacies of stale legacy…
This week the impact of shifting consumer spending during COVID-19 resulted in a new wave of massive employee furloughs in non-food retail sectors. For those retailers still open for business, the employees working on the front line have become increasingly anxious about their own health. …
With the CDC now reporting over 300,000 COVID-19 cases and shelter-at-home orders issued in 40+ states (as of 4/3), every citizen and sector of the economy is being affected by the epidemic. By analyzing changes in foot traffic across food retail, we can monitor the…
This week about 90% of U.S. consumers are under a “Stay at Home” order. Most of these customers have moved beyond the hoarding period to the next wave of shopping behavior focused on limited trips to stores with increased purchasing on-line with home delivery. In…
With jobless claims spiking to 3.3 M last week and more states moving to “Stay at Home”, Covid-19 continues to wreak havoc across the U.S. Many retailers have displayed agility and innovation to quickly implement new tactics to keep business going as well as contribute…
What a week! Covid-19 reaction hit the tipping point in the United States. As of Sunday, March 22, one in four Americans is required to stay at home unless seeking or providing an essential service. Most consumers in the rest of the country are voluntarily…
Unprecedented. In my over three decades of covering and working in the retail industry, we have never seen anything like the impact of Coronavirus on the global retail scene. 9/11 temporarily ground business in the United States to a halt as fear and uncertainty gripped…
There have been two major developments with Amazon Go in the past few weeks. First, they opened a “jumbo” sized store (at least for a Go) in Seattle. And, they just announced that they would make the technology available to other retailers and just named…
Less than three years ago, I was part of a consulting team that participated in a strategic planning retreat for Art Van Furniture’s senior management. At the time (mid 2017), the company was riding high: it was immensely profitable, growing fast, entering new markets and…
