Who doesn't love a good comeback story? Michael Jordan, Steve Jobs, Serena Williams… and now, #retail. The pandemic was predicted to have been disastrous for retail. So disastrous, hedge funds across the world bet against retail & are now facing up to $28 B in losses! #Thread

https://on.ft.com/3hIOKVN  If there's one thing that the punters at Wall Street should never underestimate—it's the human capacity to #consume. US retail sales rebounded an incredible 17.7% in May from April— more than twice the rate of recovery that economists had forecast!

The sales of apparel, accessories, electronics, sporting goods, home furniture & even vehicles have surged after steep declines in April. As per a PYMNTs report, consumers are shopping at pre-covid levels, except their habits are now completely digital. https://www.retaildive.com/news/about-a-third-of-consumers-are-shopping-at-pre-covid-19-levels-theyre-jus/579885/

Some key findings from the report: A) 32.8% of shoppers are buying retail goods as much as they did before the outbreak but are now #online (in fact, higher than consumers who have moved online more often to shop for groceries/ order from restaurants, 12.8% & 16.1% respectively)

B) 24.6% of bridge millennials, 23.8% of millennials and 17% of #GenZ consumers have shifted some routines to digital channels and plan to maintain those even after the pandemic.
C) The biggest change however, comes from #GenX, with 26% of them shifting to digital.

This isn't to say that there are no casualties, but it's clear all the victors in retail have ONE thing in common --> a strong #digital presence.

The time has come for retailers to not just revisit their e-commerce strategy but think #onlinefirst. How can they give their customers the best online experiences? How can they recreate the shop floor, online? What does their e-commerce site need to keep customers coming back?

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