The team continued their conversation that night. Jim wanted to explore what the team wished they’d known
Jim – We couldn’t have known about COVID, but bricks and mortar retail has been in decline. Just look at the office product market. Remember how many different chains there were just 10 years back? According to recent data, US eCommerce grew by almost 45% in 2020. Did it ever make sense to not consider Direct to Consumer as a major source of business?
Adam replied, “We hoped that our distributor would take care of everything. It wasn’t that simple. Executing the pivot was fun but challenging. Stores will come back, but how quickly and how much is anyone’s guess. As of last November, general merchandise sales were down over 20%. Other Retail was down over 30%. Store outlets have been declining, even without the pandemic”
Sharon added, “Even though stores will come back, social media is vital, so is SEO. After all, 2020 was the first year that Google, Facebook, and Amazon digital ad spend exceeded all other ad spend”
Jim replied, “It’s certainly true. Retail is always changing, but the pandemic accelerated some trends, and hurt companies that couldn’t adapt quickly. Let’s talk about what we might do differently if we decide to launch something again someday.”
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