As 2022 gets underway, the retail industry faces a plethora of uncertainties.
"Will there be new strains of COVID-19 and how will they affect shopping behaviors? When will the global supply chain return to “normal”? And how much of a factor will rising inflation rates play in consumer behaviors, both large and small, in the foreseeable future?
Many of these questions are not only beyond the scope of this report but beyond the feasibility of any expert opinion, regardless of the expert. Historical trend analysis simply can’t provide much insight: these are truly unprecedented times.
What, then, has a retailer to do? As industry analysts, we have been asked that question countless times since March 2020 by retailers, technologists— and even students looking to enter the workplace"