The COVID-19 pandemic has altered buyer behavior as consumers have migrated to digital purchase channels. In February 2020, research firm eMarketer at Insider Intelligence projected only modest growth in the retail sector, citing growth of 2.8 percent to $5.621 trillion by year-end.1 In July the firm was forced to recast its projection, by forecasting a 10.6 percent decrease in U.S. retail sales. In all, there was a 20 percent drop in retail sales from February to April, with clothing and accessory stores and department stores seeing the biggest drops – 89 and 45 percent, respectively.2 At the same time, 40 percent of consumers reported switching brands or retailers.3 Traditional brick-and-mortar will suffer the most from these changes, according to the firm, taking a 14 percent hit this year alone.

Historical shopper data and marketing tactics may not apply in the new normal. One expert says “even businesses that had amassed great volumes of customer data before Covid-19 are finding themselves in the same cold-start position as businesses venturing into unknown markets or reaching out to new audiences.4 This means marketing dollars may not be delivering their potential return on investment as sales go lower and the customer acquisition process is muddied. In addition, budget cuts compound this issue.