Special issue on Covid-19 and retailing

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a dramatic impact on all our lives. It has also highlighted the critical and varied role(s) played by retailing in both the economy and wider society. The pandemic has undoubtedly been a disruptive agent to the existing business models of retailers, their established operational practices and how consumers behave and shop. Disruption has also been felt throughout the wider retail eco-system including actors in the supply chain and the real estate industry. Our existing understanding of the concepts of space and place in retail markets has been challenged, as the traditional ‘rules of the game’ for fixed store retailing have changed. The reactions of policy makers to the pandemic varied across the globe but typically involved the application of different and differentiated public health measures resulting in periodic lockdowns and other restrictions on trading. These actions have impacted upon different retail-sub sectors to differing degrees, depending on an often simplistic distinction between ‘essential’ and ‘non-essential’ retailing. The outcome for retail organisations has been significant shifts in established income streams and cost structures, whilst the resilience of existing supply chains has also been tested. However, the retail industry has proved to be agile and innovative in its response. At a macro level, existing structural changes such as the shift towards online retailing has accelerated and new opportunities arising from a greater focus on ‘local’ shopping and shorter supply chains have emerged. At a managerial level, new operating practices and service activities have been adopted as retailing has adjusted to changes in consumer behaviour, preferences and expectations. As we move towards the ‘new’ or ‘next’ normal which of these changes are temporary and which will be permanent is still unclear, although it is widely recognized that we are unlikely to return to the past. The call for papers for this special issue generated almost fifty submissions covering a wide range of topics and retail settings from around the world. Half of these were desk rejected and others were deemed more appropriate for consideration within a nonspecial issue of the Review. Typically, many of the rejected submissions appeared opportunistic (perhaps not surprising, given the disruptive nature of the pandemic) in that a Covid dimension was added to an existing piece of research. Consequently, the underlying rationale, the coherence of the narrative, and the contribution of the study was sometimes compromised. Following a standard review process, we have selected five papers for this special issue which we believe provide an interesting and informative view of how retailing has been impacted by the pandemic. Two core themes emerge from these papers, reflecting the disruptive nature of the Covid-19 ‘crisis’. First, changes to established consumer practices and underlying motivations and priorities – with a greater emphasis on the social and community related dimensions of shopping activity. Second, changes in consumer perceptions of retailer THE INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF RETAIL, DISTRIBUTION AND CONSUMER RESEARCH 2022, VOL. 32, NO. 2, 127–129 https://doi.org/10.1080/09593969.2022.2052464