The Virus Crisis Forces Retailers to Think Omni-channel

Consumers in China are watching coronavirus numbers closely as they wait patiently for a tipping point to arrive with the warm weather. The outbreak has had a heavy impact on the retail market because the majority of Chinese citizens remain under quarantine. Shopping malls either postponed or shortened their operating times, and landlords have slashed retail rents as the virus spread across China and beyond.

While consumers are stuck at home, many have turned their attention to the virtual world as a way to take a break from the constant stream of virus news. Virtual shopping has even become a full-blown trend. Consumers are learning to fulfill their shopping urges by taking virtual tours online. For example, the Mixc in Shanghai launched a VR channel that allows consumers to browse many of the mall’s offerings, from fashion staples like Nike, Puma, and Fila, to beauty brands and retailers such as Lancome,Cle de Peau Beaute, and Sephora.

Comparatively, luxury shopping malls are conservative about taking the shopping experience virtual,leaning more toward creative campaigns to help generate attention. For example,both SKP Beijing and Chengdu IFS launched Valentine’s Day campaigns. IFS invited heart throb celebrity Heize to promote its latest holiday offerings, while SKP Beijing came up with an online quiz to help consumers curate special Valentine’s Day items.

Meanwhile, many shopping malls are using this moment to revamp and introduce new technologies to help them prepare for their omni-channel futures. One is to build an Instagram-like social shopping feed where sales associates can post their latest items and consumers can leave comments or click to shop. Another is a live-streaming WeChat Mini Program (created in collaboration with Tencent Cloud) that lets consumers video chat with sales associates who broadcast products in the store. Consumers can screenshot items and purchase them anytime during the live-stream session. This is beneficial because the large WeChat ecosystem offers brands exclusivity and flexibility that third-party sellers cannot.

The coronavirus has forced traditional retailers to at least start considering innovative sales tech. Brands can then use different functions — live-stream, group sale bundles, or virtual scores, for example — to increase consumer stickiness.

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