Disaster recovery plans could help retailers thrive

2020 has not been kind to retailers.

In the UK, we’ve seen local authorities shutter companies up and down the country and only allow grocers to remain open during this crisis. In the US, the situation is even worse, with both the virus and now looting taking a severe toll on the sector.

What current events make abundantly clear is that the retail sector desperately needs effective disaster recovery plans. Firms need to be able to bounce back from setbacks quickly and be light on their feet. 

So what does this brave new future look like for the industry? How do we keep retail health?

More focus on flexibility

Retailers are going to have to fundamentally rethink what they are. Conceptually, it was so easy in the past. A retailer was just a brick-and-mortar store where people went to buy the stuff that they needed. 

Today, though, things are radically different. The old notions of retail are falling apart because of competition from online. And we see the emergence of a fundamentally different world. The focus will shift back to the fundamental concept of retail: presenting goods to customers through whatever channels are necessary.

How firms ultimately wind up doing that very much depends on their ability to adapt. Some will move their operations online and distribute goods through other channels (perhaps low-cost pop-up stalls). Others will believe that Covid-19 is just a once-in-a-lifetime event, and we won’t see anything similar for another hundred years. That might be wishful thinking according to https://theconversation.com/flattening-another-coronavirus-curve-the-cash-flow. 

A better understanding of insurance

If recent events prove anything, it is that retailers need a better understanding of how the insurance industry works. Sites like https://insuranceoctopus.co.uk/commercial-combined-insurance/ try to explain the benefits of various products. However, the vast majority of retailers still make far too many assumptions. 

Whether you can claim looting or vandalism, for instance, depend very much on the type of goods you sell. Stores need to negotiate with their providers on an individual basis and thrash out the circumstances under which losses are covered. 

Fully fleshed out disaster recovery plans

In the years in the run-up to 2020, retailers paid lip service to the idea of disaster recovery. It was mentioned at the odd workshop and board meeting. But the bread and butter of the business continued to operate as usual, without really thinking about it. 

Then a series of disasters struck the industry, and now it is in serious trouble. 

The problem with the current disaster is that it is partly policy-induced. No doubt, the pandemic would have caused a slump in retail sales. But public health officials shuttering shops means that they can’t make any money at all, leading to serious cash flow problems. 

We are, therefore, likely to see a tremendous rise in the amount of cash companies keep in reserve to see them through future outbreaks. And that could drastically affect their ability to expand. 

Disaster recovery could help retail continue to thrive, but only in the future. Nobody was genuinely prepared for the March lockdown.