Following two years of a global pandemic, more than 19.9 million confirmed cases in the UK and in excess of 163,000 deaths*, the UK lifted all the pandemic-related restrictions in March 2022 as a part of its “Living with COVID-19“ plan.

Over the past two years, retail – one of the biggest sectors and job providers in Europe – was hit especially hard by the pandemic and became divided like never before.

Essential retailers and groceries remained open, as they were classified as critical to the economy, but fashion and so called non-essential retail was forced to close its doors for several months, which drove many into administration and permanent closure. Even when allowed to open, non-essential retailers were faced with strict restrictions regarding occupancy limits, mask coverings, etc. Not only did these factors changed the retail landscape following the pandemic, it also created new shopper habits and needs.

In our latest report “Retail Reset: 2 years on” we look back at the situation in the UK since March 2020 and the overall impact the pandemic has had on the retail industry and shopper sentiment alike.

The report also addresses some of the open questions about what’s ahead of us as we move out of pandemic-mode into a new landscape marked with the military conflict in Europe, severe climate changes and unprecedented inflation.

Retail Reset: 2 years on evaluates:

• The key milestones of the pandemic
• the slow rebounce of the retail industry and its impact on footfall
• emerging trends in shopper behaviour including brand loyalty and generation mix insights
• the new sustainability mindset of the greener shopper
• highlights from the retail transformation over the past two years

Download the report now!