24 BDO LLP | RETAIL FORECASTS REPORT 2021
RETAIL IN THE AGE OF COVID-19 CONTINUED
Proportion of UK consumers who say they will continue or increase the following behaviours Post-COVID -19 October 2020
EXPLOSION OF HOMEWORKING
The pandemic has compelled many organisations and workers to embrace home working and for many there are intentions to make this a permanent shift. Government contractor Capita, which has 45,000 employees, is just one such example of this and is now looking to close over a third of its offices in favour of offering its employees more flexibility to work from home. Some locations will be hugely impacted by office workers not returning. High street retailers – especially those focussed around convenience – are unlikely to see footfall returning to pre- pandemic levels, while convenience stores in residential areas are likely to benefit from increased custom, with 9.8%of consumers stating that they believe they will continue to visit these locations more often, even after the COVID-19 crisis has abated. Homeworking has also marked a shift in what people are buying across products including food, fashion and furniture. KEY SECTORS IMPACTED AND EXAMPLES Grocery – Sainsbury’s has announced plans to close 12 stores in ‘Ghost towns’, while Co-op is to open or extend 65 local stores. Fashion – The rise in homeworking means sales of formalwear have fallen, while sales of loungewear have risen. This new balance is unlikely to revert to where it was previously, posing particular challenges to formalwear focussed specialists, such as TM Lewin, which fell into administration and closed all its stores in July. In contrast, online ‘bedwear to streetwear’ brand Les Girls les Boys reported a 1,000% uplift in tracksuit bottoms during Lockdown, while value focussed pureplay Boohoo reported that sales of going- out items had slowed in favour of items such as hoodies, joggers and tracksuit bottoms. Home – The need to create home offices has boosted demand for home office furniture, with IKEA describing increased demand for desks and ‘home organisation products’ such as storage solutions and decorations.
Cook more meals at home
58% 47% 44% 20%
Dine at home instead of restaurants
Buy more products online rather than visiting a store Working from home instead of going to an office
Source: GlobalData
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