“The retail sector will see changes, but it depends on the duration of the crisis as to how radical the changes will be. If the crisis doesn’t take long, the changes will affect the purchasing power and customers will migrate from premium brands to medium and low brands. If the crisis lasts long, the retail chains will reconfigure, as the consumer buying behavior will change. People will buy from home, it will be less road traffic and the convenience store chains will be affected”, Calin Costinas, deputy CEO of Profi told the ZF Retail 2020 videoconference: The forced makeover of the retail and the adaptation to the new reality, organized Wednesday.
Costinas also said that people pay more attention to food prices, the segment of discount stores and supermarkets is gaining ground, the online has soared in one month as in five years, because customers stay home, the online will be growing significantly on all segments, but not so strong on the food segment.
Costinas added that supermarkets will use discount elements to secure prices, and the discount concept will add fresh elements. “Supermarkets will be moving towards the HoReCa (hotels, restaurants and coffee shops) sector and will create wider food court areas, because customers will no longer afford to go to restaurants and will satisfy their needs at lower prices. The cash & carry segment will be moving towards supermarkets,” Costinas concluded.