The COVID-19 pandemic has changed retail in a way that has brought to light just how important having an omnichannel strategy is for a retail business.

Retail businesses, in particular, should consider raising their awareness of the changes to consumer demands and preferences. Businesses will want to re-evaluate how their resources and competencies are arranged for the short and long-term to benefit from growth opportunities despite the outbreak and achieve growth.

The Coronavirus outbreak has pushed traditional brick-and-mortar retailers into online channels, many of which now face a host of new questions as we start returning to normal:

How to balance offline & online channels to embrace the return to normalcy efficiently? How to determine the impact of recent events on consumer psychology to adjust? And how can those businesses optimize online and offline channels, marketing, and other resources?

Before the crisis, brands that already had a strong online presence have been rewarded with plenty of new opportunities. Meanwhile, brands that have recently started embracing online channels might need to work harder to retain long-term customer interest.

Consumers are already starting to emerge from their homes to enjoy the physical shopping experience. However, many of the online habits developed during this period will remain and alter consumers’ expectations for an excellent omnichannel shopping experience.

Related: How to Measure Your Omnichannel ROI

With an excellent omnichannel strategy, retail stores can provide their customers with a seamless online and offline shopping experience. However, some brands remain uncertain about reopening their physical stores safely and efficiently to fully complete an omnichannel journey.

Managing people’s flow and footfall traffic inside and outside of a store with retail analytics solutions allows business owners to better understand the customer journey and optimize the store’s layout, marketing effectiveness, queue management, and staff scheduling.

Related: 6 Game Changing Rules That Defines The Future Of Retail

Another solution that has become imperative in the last few months is real-time occupancy. With many restrictions on people’s numbers allowed to be present together at one time, occupancy monitoring solutions give customers the peace of mind they need to have a fun and safe shopping experience.

V-Count’s real-time occupancy monitoring solutions allow customers and staff to stay informed about the number of people within a store in real-time. It also helps retailers provide periodic sanitization and frequent cleaning for the least-crowded areas.

Through digital screens at the various entrances, customers can see safety recommendations displayed to know when it’s safe or not safe to enter, which gives them a sense of safety and trust.

Learn more about V-Count’s people counting solutions and how they help businesses achieve an omnichannel experience across their physical stores with data analytics. 

Stay up to date here for the latest on how to manage physical distancing with our people counting occupancy solution.