As the US begins to ponder lifting lockdowns, retailers are being urged to prepare to get back to business, with the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) and the National Retail Federation (NRF) this week releasing a blueprint of how they expect the reopening will occur.

Noting retail had been at the forefront of the COVID-19 crisis in terms of both servicing consumers’ essential needs and business shutdowns, the ‘Open For Business’ blueprint explains retailers have been learning from each other and “now is the time to prepare for the entire retail sector to safely re-open”.

“As an industry, we stand ready to assist governors and mayors with the important task of safely re-opening our main streets and storefronts again, with an underlying commitment to helping all families Shop Safe,” RILA and the NRF state.

Here’s a quick snapshot of how they propose going about it…

Step 1 – Contactless

Warehouses and distribution centres are the first places the blueprint suggests retail and government should focus on reopening in a bid to facilitate e-commerce, contactless curbside pickups and in-home delivery.

“In these operations, a limited number of employees are allowed in stores that are closed to the public to fulfil online orders and deliver purchases to customers who drive or walk up, observing appropriate social distancing,” they propose.

Step 2 – Reduced occupancy

Once the time is deemed right, the blueprint then suggests government and retailers look at reopening stores to the public with strict social distancing, hygiene, and sanitization rules in place along with customer limits.

Proposing protocols for both employees and customers, the blueprint calls on governments to issue clear guidelines and recommends the use of signage.

It also suggests practical measures like contactless payments and six-feet distancing in checkout queues, and between cashiers and customers at checkouts.

The blueprint further recommends store occupancy of no more than 50 per cent and no less than 20 per cent of the maximum capacity according to the relevant fire code, or alternatively thresholds of no more than five customers per 1,000 square feet of total store square footage excluding employees.

Customer education would be a key component of this phase along with increased sanitization of high touch areas, including technology like the Point of Sale. Strict hygiene measures should also be employed, the report notes, such as increased handwashing and the provision of hand sanitizer.

“During this phase, retailers open additional stores to the public with robust health and safety protocols in place to protect customers and employees and to mitigate the spread of the virus so COVID-19 does not revert,” the blueprint states.

Step 3 – Business as new normal

The third and final stage of the reopening plan sees social distancing measures reduced but sanitization and hygiene protocols remain in place.

The report suggests sanitizer should be readily supplied to staff, hands should frequently be washed, high touch areas should regularly be cleaned and any staff who are showing signs of illness should remain at home.

“There is no doubt that even under the most optimistic of scenarios, American families will be adjusting to a “new normal” for some time to come,” the blueprint concludes.

“The entire retail sector is prepared to meet this challenge and give consumers confidence in our ability to safely and warmly welcome them back into our stores. We appreciate the tireless efforts of America’s governors to safeguard our communities throughout this crisis, and we are ready to work together to safely re-open our economy.”

The RILA and NRF “Open for Business – A Blueprint for Shopping Safe” was released on April 27 and is available in full here.

US retailer Walmart has topped the 50 global retailer list, with Amazon ranking second and Costco placing fifth, while Walgreens, Home Depot, McDonald’s, Lowe’s and TJX also feature in the top 30.

Compiled by the National Retail Federation (NRF), the rankings see retailers assessed on criteria including international direct selling capabilities, the size of the company’s international retail sales franchise sales, and marketplace sales and sourcing alliances.

So which US retailers made the grade and how did they achieve success?

Walmart – Ranked No 1

• Business foundations: Mass/hyper
• Total worldwide stores: 11,361
• Stores outside the US: 5,993
• Countries of first-party operation: 27

With total global revenue of $510.33 billion, Walmart continues to seriously outperform all its nearest rivals, retaining the top position on the global retailers list.

The NRF notes it will likely hold this position in the immediate future due to its comfortable lead over nearest competitor Amazon.

“As we think about ‘Who will be?’ it seems certain that Amazon and Walmart will be two of the retailers that remain on the top of these rankings for many years to come. Will a third or fourth retailer join this battle for the top position?” the NRF asks.

Amazon – Ranked No 2

• Business foundations: E-commerce
• Total worldwide stores: 472
• Stores outside the US: 7
• Countries of first-party operation: 18

Amazon continues to hold firm in second position with global revenue of $232.88 billion.

The NRF notes that position is largely due to a number of factors including their expansion into Singapore, Turkey, Australia, India and Brazil.

“In each of these countries two things have happened soon after Amazon’s investment,” the NRF reflects.

“One, Alibaba has attempted to match or even outpace Amazon’s investment with acquisitions and investments of its own. Two, the local press has declared that consumers are not ‘catching on’ to the Amazon way of shopping.

“Despite these obstacles, Amazon is a retailer with a treasure chest of options available with one of the world’s highest market capitalizations, a hot domestic economy in the United States where consumers have most certainly ‘caught on’ to the Amazon way of shopping, and strong momentum coming from big and healthy countries such as Germany and Japan.”

Costco – Ranked No 5

• Business foundations: Club
• Total worldwide stores: 782
• Stores outside the US: 239
• Countries of first-party operation: 12

The NRF explains Costco continues to quietly surprise international retail experts.

“First, it makes consumers pay a membership fee to enter its warehouses. Second, consumers who shop at Costco routinely state that the pack sizes they purchase are ‘too big’.

“Third, Costco moves slowly, opening just one or two international locations each year, especially compared with other retailers around them that open hundreds of stores at a time.

“Fourth, Costco has resisted making wholesale investments in e-commerce, so far preferring to sell additional services online rather than core merchandise.”

Despite this, Costco reported a most recent global revenue of $149.35 billion

Honourable mentions

• Walgreens Boots Alliance (No 11) – Drugstore, revenue $115.99 billion, 13,882 stores worldwide, 4605 stores outside the US.
• Home Depot (No 15) – Home improvement, revenue $108.20 billion, 2287 stores worldwide, 306 stores outside the US
• McDonald’s (No 23) – Quick service retail, revenue $26.53 billion, 37,855 stores worldwide, 23,941 stores outside the US
• Lowe’s (No 25) – Home improvement, revenue $67.20 billion, 2015 stores worldwide, 292 stores outside the US
• TJX (No 30) – Discount fashion retailer, revenue $38.97 billion, 4306 stores worldwide, 1163 stores outside the US
• Best Buy (No 33) – Electronics, revenue $42.88 billion, 1238 stores worldwide, 212 stores outside the US
• Starbucks (No 36) – Quick service retail, revenue $26.51 billion, 31,795 stores worldwide, 16,607 stores outside the US
• eBay (No 38) – E-Commerce, revenue $10.75 billion, 0 stores worldwide
• Gap (No 45) – Fashion, revenue $16.58 billion, 3666 stores worldwide, 1028 stores outside the US

The US retail sector is rubbing its hand together with collective glee with news the recent holiday season delivered the high sales that were expected.

Figures released by the National Retail Federation indicate holiday retail sales totalled $730.2 billion, putting them at the upper echelon of predictions and indicating growth of 4.1 per cent on 2018.

The welcome news arrived as a further NRF report revealed convenience is now a key factor that consumers seek.

So, let’s walk through the bumper holiday season and also examine the findings of the latest NRF Consumer View Report.

A bumper holiday

In October 2019,  the NRF released their sales predictions for the holiday season ahead, noting they anticipated holiday sales during November and December would increase between 3.8 per cent and 4.2 per cent for a total of between $727.9 billion and $730.7 billion.

The final figures were in the upper band of what was expected with actual sales growth of 4.1 per to total $730.2 billion.

This was almost twice the growth rate of 2018, with online sales leading the retail charge.

Statistics indicate:

• Online and other non-store sales were up 14.6 per cent year-over-year
• Grocery and beverage stores increased 2.9 per cent.
• Furniture and home furnishings stores were up 2.6 per
• Health and personal care stores were up 1.6 per cent
• Building materials and garden supply stores were up 1 per cent
• General merchandise stores were up 0.4 per cent

Areas faring less well and reporting slight reductions included:

• Sporting goods stores, which were down 0.4 per cent
• Clothing and clothing accessory stores – down 1.6 per cent
• Electronics and appliance stores – down 2 per cent

Noting the sales totals reflected a “healthy holiday period”, NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz said it indicated consumer confidence.

“Despite a late Thanksgiving and worries about tariffs, the consumer didn’t go away. We’ve had months of strong employment numbers, high wages and strong household balance sheets,” he said.

“There’s no doubt that gave consumers a sense of confidence about their ability to spend, and they did their part to keep the economy moving.”

In the meantime, the NRF has also released its latest Consumer View Report, looking at the role of convenience in modern retail.

Latest consumer findings

The latest Consumer View Report takes a deep dive into which factors impact purchasing decisions.

Conducted over winter and the holiday sales period, the report found quality ranks as the most important factor in most people’s purchasing decisions, with 32 per cent of survey respondents indicating it was the main reason they selected an item.

Low price was the second most important criteria at 30 per cent, while convenience ranked third (13 per cent), brand values came in fourth (12 per cent), and overall brand accounted for 11 per cent.

However, the concept of convenience proved an interesting one.

The role of convenience in retail

Although only one in 10 people indicated convenience was the main factor that prompted them to make a purchase, an astounding 97 per cent of shoppers noted they have backed out of a purchase because it was inconvenient to them.

Meanwhile, 83 per cent indicated convenience is now more important to them than it was just five years ago, and for some purchases, convenience is far more important than for others.

The report found groceries top the list of products where consumers seek convenience, with 63 per cent of survey respondents saying it was “very important” and 64 indicating they’d be willing to pay more for it.

Next was clothing. Almost half (47 per cent) said convenience was very important, while 61 per cent will pay more for it.

Third was electronics, with 42 per cent of people indicating convenience was very important, and 59 per cent noting they’d be willing to pay more for it.

Personal care products and also pet supplies were next on the list, with 41 per cent of people indicating convenience was very important when purchasing in either of these categories, and 58 per cent were willing to pay more for it when buying products.

When convenience counts

Finally, the report noted convenience matters more at some points of the purchasing journey than others.

In online retail, 38 per cent of people indicated convenience matters most in the research phase, that was followed by post purchase (23 per cent), then right before the purchase (20 per cent), and finally at the checkout 18 per cent.

In store, convenience matters most at the checkout (40 per cent), right before making a purchase (25 per cent), post purchase (18 per cent), and then in the research phase (16 per cent).

The final takeaway

As consumers feel more pressed for time, convenience now counts more than ever, and that’s only likely to increase in the coming years. As a result, consumers have welcomed initiatives like Buy Online Pickup Instore, but for many retailers there’s room for improvement, and the rewards will be worth the effort.

If retailers can offer a more convenience shopping experience, chances are consumers will pay more for the privilege.

Retail is alive and well, but changing rapidly. That’s the key message from this year’s NRF Big Show, which this week took place in New York.

Running from January 12-14, this year’s show was entitled NRF 2020 Vision and drew a record crowd of over 40,000 attendees from 100 countries representing 16,000 retailers – all of whom gathered to better understand the current state of retail and the future ahead.

Here’s a recap of just some of the highlights.

Alive and well

Opening the conference on January 12, NRF Board Chairman Chris Baldwin told attendees retail was alive and well, but changing quickly. He noted massive investment had been made in technology over recent years and for many retailers that was paying off, particularly in the arena of customer satisfaction.

Backing this claim, he cited NRF statistics that indicate 83 per cent of customers say convenience is more important than it was five years ago, and 60 per cent say retail’s investments have improved their shopping experience.

On the customer’s terms

Nordstrom co-president Erik Nordstrom took to the stage for an interview about serving the customer on their terms.

He noted digital versus online was barely relevant with a consumer. Instead, customers go back and forth looking for a singular experience.

More than half of Nordstrom sales have an online component and over one-third of its online sales involve a store experience, but the reason for having a physical store has changed significantly.

Nordstrom explained stores need to be more experiential and not just about picking up an item. In Nordstrom’s case, that’s led to innovations like a bar in a flagship store shoe department.

“People are smiling,” he said. “Strangers are talking to each other. We think a lot about shoes. I don’t know why it took us so long to put drinking and shoes together, but it’s a great combination.”

Syncing with today’s consumer

Today’s consumer is more diverse than ever before, and Bonobos and Universal Standard executives offered an insight into meeting that challenge.

They noted the industry is in the grip of change where inclusion will be part of the conversation – whether it relates to body size, gender identity, culture, or politics.

“I think what’s interesting is how fashion can help express the entirety of who they are,” Bonobos CEO Micky Onvural reflected. “We want to create a world where we all fit.”

Universal Standard provides clothing lines ranging in size from 00 to 40, with co-founder Alexandra Waldman noting retail was at a “tipping point”.

“Everything is about to be different, and we want to be part of that change. We want to spearhead the inclusion of everyone in the conversation, which has never been done before.”

A journey to sustainability

Sustainability is becoming a major driver of consumer behaviour as customers bring their ethical expectations to the purchasing table.

Retail executives from cosmetic co Lush and lifestyle brand West Elm took part in a conversation on the issue, sharing their journey of sustainability and covering concepts like ethical sourcing, handcrafted products, fair trade and reduced packaging.

Both noted the importance of building relationships with suppliers and reflected how their commitment had evolved and grown.

“It’s been an evolution, and it’s been a journey,” West Elm’s Jennifer Gootman explained. “I think for a lot of retailers that are really interested in this space, that’s important to recognize. Not everything happens at once. You can evolve and learn and figure out what’s material to your business and develop it from there.”

More insight and detailed accounts of the topics discussed at NRF 2020 Vision is available on the National Retail Federation website.