Retailing In An Unpredictable World

Thinking about the enormity of the healthcare crisis and its impact on every country on the planet, it can hardly be surprising that we are now experiencing a whole series of unforeseen consequences of differing severity. From the global supply chain problems to labour shortages, rising inflation and energy problems, retailing yet again finds itself battling with problems in all directions.

In our latest report published this week in our Retail World series that continues to track the impact of Covid-19 on retailing around the world, the scale of these challenges is clear.

There was never going to be a single announcement that the pandemic was over. We have come to accept that instead, we will have to learn to live with Covid-19 just so long as the vaccine programmes continue to be rolled out rapidly and fairly around the world. India, as mentioned in this report, has just achieved an incredible milestone of administering a billion vaccine doses.

But the after-effects for retailing along with many business sectors are manifested in the problems caused by disruption to factories, supplies and distribution. Initial consumer euphoria at the easing of lockdowns is being replaced by a return to uncertainty in many…