Google research shows huge impact of coronavirus on retail space

Just 28% of UK retailers felt that they were properly equipped to maintain business continuity in the early stages of Covid-19, according to research by Google Cloud.

1,116 retail executives were surveyed across the US, France, Germany, UK, Brazil, Indonesia and India.

51% of UK retailers have accelerated cloud adoption in response to the coronavirus outbreak. 99% of global retailers have prepared for a surge in traffic, while nearly half of UK respondents have made changes to website infrastructure or added fulfilment options.

55% of the latter revealed that supply chain complications were a worry during peak periods - the highest of all regions surveyed. Over three-quarters have adopted pre-order and pick up options and 68% offer same-day delivery to deliver products on time.

“The pandemic fast-tracked digital trends that the industry had been pondering over the previous decade, separating retail leaders and laggards. What were once nice to have technological differentiators became necessities when the pandemic hit,” Carrie Tharp, VP of Consumer & Retail, Google Cloud, says in a blog post.

She adds: “As retailers scrambled to digitise, consumers took to online shopping unlike ever before. Brands and stores quickly launched new contactless delivery systems.”

“Inventory management became even more complicated across the supply chain. And the looming holiday shopping season created uncertainty and stress for their businesses.”