Retail & Consumer Sector Review: How does the Retail sector navigate the post Covid world with its new and novel challenges?

The Retail & Consumer sector is one in constant innovation and development. Over the last two years, it has had to adapt and pivot revenue and operating models to survive.

However, while the coronavirus pandemic is largely behind us, the sector faces new challenges - inflation, low consumer confidence, supply chain challenges and spiralling utility costs. As retailers seek to realign prices to protect margins, consumers are not able to sustain the higher prices they now demand.

Our analysis in this paper also shows that the expected overhaul to online, as a result of lockdowns and store closures, has not happened. Those who expected the pandemic to accelerate the shift to online will be surprised to see we are no further along the curve than we would have been without the pandemic.

We outline in this paper:

• What retailers can be doing about the current crises in the short term, to protect margins and working capital
• How inflation can be managed, through robust analysis and agility to prices
• What the future of retail stores could be, and how these will play an important role in the omnichannel model

We hope you enjoy the read, and would welcome the opportunity to discuss how we may help you and your teams navigate these sector-specific challenges.