As the retail industry emerged from the pandemic tunnel, there was an optimistic outlook across the sector. This positive attitude was in spite of 2022 proving to be a challenging year for retailers. Through the difficult period, digital acceleration persisted and prominent trends came to light. Some of these popular trends included quick commerce, marketplaces, social commerce, a rebound in brick & mortar stores, and a rebalancing of e-commerce. Now that we find ourselves years past 2023, how did the industry evolve from the challenges of the pandemic years?
In 2023, as economic headwinds, geopolitical unrest, fast-changing consumers, supply chain disruptions, and persisting labor concerns arose, retail executives embraced operational shifts. While global retail sales growth was expected to climb by 4.8% in 2023, inflation and unemployment rates were also expected to increase gradually throughout the year.
Retailers have learned a lot about the importance of resilience in recent years, as significant changes in demand during the pandemic led retailers to favor more agile, adaptable operations. Retailers were forced to implement health and safety regulations and solidify their omnichannel offerings seemingly overnight. Furthermore, they discovered that rapidly changing consumer demand and a increasingly competitive landscape needed more comprehensive data and solutions to preserve customer loyalty and capture sales.
Changing Consumer Behavior
The role of retailers in the customer’s buying journey was transformed during the pandemic. This transformation hastened an emerging trend of consumers demanding value in accessible ways. To compete, stores went above and beyond, providing exceptional last-mile services, such as buy online pick up in-store and buy online return in-store (BOPIS and BORIS). Accordingly, retailers increasingly reached customers wherever they were, from traditional brick-and-mortar locations to the metaverse and everything in between.
The post-pandemic shake out in retail has seen brick-and-mortar stores shutting down at an alarming rate for those companies that failed to react quickly and adopt emerging sales channels. According to the Centre of Retail Research, in 2022, 17,145 shops in the UK closed their doors permanently. In spite of that alarming statistic, physical stores remain critical to an omnichannel strategy. Integrating the correct digital resources is fundamental to ensuring well-stocked shelves and accurate inventory data, to BOPIS and BORIS provisions, and ensuring staff are equipped to provide elevated service levels.
The Continued Labor Shortage
The ‘Great Resignation‘ is another crisis that has characterized the post-pandemic era of retailing. Employees have been leaving their jobs at an astonishing rate throughout the last two years. In 2023, 46% of employees admitting that they are planning on leaving their current job. Furthermore, a survey by Willis Towers Watson found that 73% of respondents were having difficulty attracting employees. 78% of facilities reported significant difficulty hiring and retaining staff in warehouses and distribution centers.
Since 2019, there has been a significant drive toward automated processes and self-service retail. Due to the proliferation of self-checkout and more automated operations, a smaller staff contingent is required to handle these transactions. This is a trend that is seemingly now a permanent feature of the retail landscape.
The labor shortage and its ramifications seem to be a fixed characteristic of the retail sector. As such, going forward, retailers understand that there are ways to prepare for labor-related challenges. For instance, ensuring that appropriate technology is continuously integrated into operations has helped retailers in the absence of labor. This is especially true for retailers that made operations more efficient. In doing so, they freed up time for limited staff to drive sales with improved in-store customer service.
The Evolution of In-Store Shopping
In previous years, it was expected that e-commerce would take over and physical stores would become obsolete. However, the brick-and-mortar store has experienced a renaissance in the past few years. Many customers do not just want a streamlined experience, they want a personalized one as well. In fact, 2025 retail statistics showed 94% of consumers are purchasing in-store after browsing digital channels, with 73% affirming the importance of a personalized shopping experience.
Introducing technology that improves staff availability, self-checkout, interactive fitting rooms, and access to information, ensures a seamless in-store shopping experience. That is the experience that keeps customers returning to brick and mortar stores today.
The Role of RFID in 2023 and Beyond
One way that retailers can ensure a seamless omnichannel experience is the introduction of simple RFID solutions. Often this includes a reader, software, and a physical tag attached to each product. Across multiple sectors retailers are experiencing the significant impact RFID has on inventory accuracy, retail shrink reduction, and product tracking. Dependable RFID solutions have become increasingly relied upon, particularly across the retail landscape.
RFID technology enables retailers to trace products across the supply chain, manage inventory levels, and optimize stock replenishment at the item-level, essentially serializing every product. Implementing this technology has the potential to increase inventory accuracy to up to 99%. Because accurate inventory leads to higher fulfilment rates and increased sales, inventory accuracy is fundamental to an effective omnichannel strategy.
RFID can significantly reduce the amount of time employees spend performing labor-intensive operational processes, such as stock counts and looking for items in disorganized backrooms. RFID-enabled search capabilities enhance both omnichannel and in-store process and allow for quicker fulfilment times for omnichannel. With employees more effectively locating products for customers, consumers are enjoying a better in-store experience.
To discover how your business can benefit from RFID technology visit our resources page or contact us.
