A study undertaken by Capillary Technologies on the impact of COVID-19 in the retail ecosystems of India, Middle East, China, and Singapore. The study offers ringside view of how the epidemic unfolded, its impact on retailers, and measures that can be taken to minimize the negative impacts of the epidemic. The findings of the study are a result of the data analyzed across 10,000 stores in these geos before and during the lockdown.
Key analysis of the study:
Singapore witnessed a perceptible drop in retail sales but not as significant as that of China. A possible reason could be because Singapore managed to contain the infection fairly well and has so far recorded zero Covid-19 related fatalities.
India seems to have entered Stage 3 of the Covid-19 outbreak. However, the government has stepped up its effort and is leaving no stone unturned in fighting the outbreak.
Key Learning to Chart a Road to Recovery for India Retailers
Based on the analysis it is evident that the short term impact of COVID-19 on retailers will be severe. From the findings, below are a few takeaways on how retailers can tackle this crisis.
Speaking on the impact of the pandemic, Aneesh Reddy, CEO of Capillary Technologies says, “This is a very trying period for retailers across the globe. Reports suggest that it will take 5 or 6 months for the world to recover completely from the impact of this pandemic. In the meantime, China has set remarkable precedence in not just battling the spread of the virus but also supporting the economy. In India, we are still in the critical phase of a national lockdown. While the Indian government is doing everything in its power to battle the virus from their end, retailers can also look up to their peers in China and Singapore to save their businesses and chart a quick road to recovery.”
Adds Aneesh, “After this pandemic, we believe that Indian retailers across sizes will understand the power of omnichannel digital transformation. In the long run, consumer brands particularly should increase the percentage of their ecommerce business and deploy O2O strategy of reaching consumers across touchpoints to prevent businesses from closing down.”