Crisis Management

What does it take for a retail brand to survive during a global pandemic that's disrupting supply chains and manufacturing capabilities, changing consumer behavior, and impacting employee productivity? In the age of COVID-19 it takes brave brands that are willing to strategically break the rules and conventions of the industry, experiment with new ideas, play…

The retail industry has been especially hard hit by the global spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Government stay-at-home orders have forced the closure of non-essential retail stores, leading to reduced revenues, employee layoffs, and bankruptcy filings (with many more likely to come). Retailers have been forced to evolve their businesses to survive this challenging period…

The National Retail Federation (NRF) called on Congress to pass legislation establishing a federal program that would help businesses obtain insurance coverage for pandemics, Yahoo News reported. The legislation is modeled on a program for terrorism insurance established after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. The NRF, along with 16 other business organizations, sent a letter…

As Lightspeed's vice president of marketing, I’ve seen firsthand how our retail clients are constantly adapting to an ever-changing industry. When e-commerce emerged, retailers went online. When online shopping was said to overtake brick-and-mortar, they responded with unique and creative in-store experiences and targeted marketing. Now, during the COVID-19 pandemic, they’re setting a precedent for…

Do employees think you’re doing enough to protect them from COVID-19? If not, you run the risk of them staging strikes and walk-outs. That crisis could lead to another one: consumers who think “if it’s not safe to work there, it must not be safe to buy there.” All of which would lead to a…

Walmart is planning to hire an additional 50,000 associates to help deal with the sustained demand for its merchandise during the coronavirus pandemic, according to an April 17 blog post from Donna Morris, Walmart's executive vice president and chief people officer. In addition, Morris said Walmart has met its hiring goal of 150,000 employees during the crisis. In the post, Morris said…

Welcome to this week's Retail Resources post, a blog updated each Monday to include the most relevant information and resources I've seen over the past week to help you lead — as well as stay sane — in this unprecedented time. If there's anything you would like me to share in a future post, please…

Retail sales during the second half of 2020 — including the pivotal back-to-school and holiday shopping periods — will be exponentially more important than ever before. Not only will retailers be forced to try to recoup as much of the losses from closures caused by COVID-19 as they possibly can, but they also will be…

Here are the latest stories to emerge as retailers and brands deal with the impact that the global spread of the coronavirus has had on their businesses. This daily update offers retail executives the chance to stay-up-to-date on all that's happening within the retail industry, particularly as they put into motion their own COVID-19 response…

There's no way around it: times are tough for retailers and direct-to-consumer (D-to-C) brands as they absorb the shock of COVID-19 on their businesses. However, the sudden upheaval is also bringing out the best from leaders in our industry, as they craft proactive strategies for survival, recovery, and future growth. To that end, we’ve put…