Retailers Surviving the Pandemic Already Had an Omni-Channel Platform

The pandemic hasn’t disrupted the retail market; it has only accelerated existing trends. Omni-channel has been the biggest trend in retail, and many brands that already had a strong omni-channel platform are thriving during this period of disruption. In many ways, those retailers have also had to make minimal changes to respond to the new market demand.

“A lot of the people that we are seeing do well now have a history of promoting and developing the omni-channel brand and platform,” Mike Moran, VP at Black Creek Group, tells GlobeSt.com. “If you had an early start and had the infrastructure in place for omni-channel, then you have done much better during the pandemic. I think that trend is one that won’t go away post-COVID. The convenience of the omni-channel model is going to be here in a meaningful way for the future.”

Brands like Best Buy, Walmart and many household name grocery stores are examples of omni-channel platforms supporting business through the pandemic. Target is one retailer that Black Creek has followed closely to track business changes. “Pre-pandemic, Target had a number of investor presentations that focused on by online and pick-up in store,” says Moran. “They started a store renovation program that divided the store into two sections, one that was more convenient for pick-up items and another that was for the long-duration shopping trip. We have obviously seen Target do exceptionally well through the pandemic.”

The pandemic has also given landlords and opportunity to better connect with tenants and support a better omni-channel experience. “We are pretty hands on operationally both before COVID, and now we have been far more hands-on and engaging directly with tenants over the last 10 months,” says Moran. “I think we have really seen the benefit of doing that, not only in weathering the storm but also in understanding tenant’s businesses better. We have a much better view of what types of tenants are adapting to help their business. I feel like we have learned a lot about our tenants, and I would have told you that I felt really great about that aspect of our business before COVID. Now it is even better.”

Moran believes that we are through the worst of the pandemic, but admits that there is somewhat of a question mark for the immediate months ahead due to surging COVID-19 cases. “My expectation for the next couple of months is a slight increase in tenant issues that come up as a result of increasing stay-at-home restrictions,” says Moran. “I think by and large, we are through the worst of this, and a lot of tenants see a light at the end of the tunnel in terms of the vaccine in the spring.”