Growing retail in the post-COVID world

COVID has accelerated an online shift that was already leaving many retailers behind and with the traditional high street seemingly consigned to history, Noatum Logistics has released a new white paper – The post-COVID retail challenge – which outlines the challenges and opportunities of growing retail in the post-COVID world.

The coronavirus pandemic and COVID19 lockdown has hit the retail sector particularly hard and is rapidly accelerating the shift from ‘bricks and mortar’ stores to online channels.

Retail Economics estimate that around £3bn in sales will shift online this Christmas, but many carriers have been operating at ‘peak’ levels since the first lockdown in March. And with volumes up 20% compared with normal and expecting Christmas to be another 20% on top, there are serious doubts that retailers will achieve the delivery levels their customers will expect.

The global small parcel market is expected to more than double from 103 billion parcels in 2019, to between 220 and 262 billion parcels by 2026.

Consumer behaviour has changed and retailers need to adapt and develop the right mix of digital channels to reach and serve their customers.

The logistics function is an intrinsic component in continued retail success.

Available inventory to browse, ease of the fulfilment process, online gift shopping and delivery times are all critical elements in ensuring that the customer’s digital experience is frictionless.

Retailers must seek logistics vendors that can provide inventory visibility, order preparation, fulfilment and returns management at significant scale, with the ability to flex to meet demand spikes and integrate all these functions with leading-edge technology and retail sales platforms.

Strategically located to the east of London, ePoint Medway is 378,000 sq ft of custom-created space, dedicated to super-efficient inventory management, eCommerce fulfilment, value-added warehousing and returns processing.

Noatum Logistics’ ePoint has been designed to provide retailers and fashion brands with a scaleable eCommerce resource, so that they can grow this critical channel, safe in the knowledge, that however quickly demand spikes they will have the capability to fill online orders and offer flexible delivery and return options, with integrated tracking and sales platform management.