Read the two video transcripts on the changes in retailing:

1) What do you think about how retailing is changing in China with Alibaba? Have you seen similar practices in the US?

2) What long term impact do you think COVID will have on retailing?

3) Considering these videos were made last year. what is happening now, how accurate were they?

Inside Alibaba: How New Retail Is Changing Everything

In retail, it used to be that consumers went to the product. Now in the golden age of e-commerce, its the product that comes to consumers. Anywhere, anytime. But thats caused some problems for brick-and-mortar stores.

What if it didnt have to be one or the other:

• Online versus offline retail?

• What if the two could work together seamlessly to benefit consumers and retailers?

This is the New Retail that Alibaba is building. And for this years 11.11 Global Shopping festival the company is on track to show us how New Retail is becoming a new reality.

New Retail is really a term coined by Alibaba. And its how we start to think about moving from online to offline. But also thinking more about logistics and data technology. And how to bring in this idea of media and entertainment and gamification all into the sport of retail.

The best example yet is Hema, the companys internet and technology-powered supermarket. At Hema, everything happens through the mobile app: online ordering for home delivery, in store product research, and even payments. But Hemas most innovative feature may be that each store also serves as a fulfillment center for online orders. That means consumers within a 3 kilometer radius can get their groceries in as fast as 30 minutes. Just like New Retail, Hema continues to evolve. Now customers shopping at the store can pay through facial recognition, too.

As innovative as Hema is, it really is just the beginning for New Retail. If you want to get a sense of the true future of this sector, you have to pay attention to the 11.11 Global Shopping Festival. 11.11 has become a test bed for all kinds of shopping innovations. A big trend in China right now is retail as entertainment. Take Alibabas See Now Buy Now fashion show, this star studded, interactive show is delivered straight to consumers TVs, computers, and mobile phones. If they like something they see on the runway viewers can buy it-in real time-through Tmall.

Then theres the 11.11 Countdown Gala Celebration created to get shoppers psyched up for the sales midnight kick-off the variety show with an interactive twist. Drew more than 100 million viewers last year. But staying true to New Retail, viewers dont just watch. They engage with the show through their mobile phones playing games to win coupons and special promotions for 11.11.

Now thats just to kick off 11.11. But what about the actual shoppin? Well, all over China, there are pop up stores where Alibaba is working with brands to create new and meaningful touch points to engage shoppers both online and off throughout the entire consumer journey. Wyeth, an American baby formula brand, is using New Retail integration as the foundation of its 11.11 strategy.

Thanks to Tmalls Catch the Cat augmented reality game, Wyeth has a fun way to bring online consumers to offline stores. Like this pop up location in Shanghai for its illuma brand. Once there, the company builds deeper connections with those consumers through features like an expert salon, where shoppers can ask doctors childcare and parenting questions.

Chinese consumers live and breathe on mobile and theyve adopted online shopping at lightning fast rates but they still like to touch and test the things that theyre going to buy. This has created an opportunity for brands and retailers. Bose just launched its first smart store in Shanghai. The companys Tmall fans can claim coupons online to use in store. They can even make a reservation for a special guided tour of Boses experience flagship store which includes hopping into a Porsche to hear the top notch sound system the way it was meant to be heard. Shoppers check in when they arrive at the store by scanning a QR code syncing up with their Tmall account. That allows them to use that coupon all while paying through Alipay. Throughout the process, consumers get the best shopping experience available and brands get a more accurate idea of who their customers are whether theyre shopping online or off.

Right now in China, 82% of all retail happens offline. That leaves a lot of room for online retail to grow. But Alibaba isnt content to merely ride that wave. In fact, if the company has anything to say about it there wont be any online versus offline retail at all. Therell just be businesses that have gone completely digital, delivering innovative, intuitive, and convenient shopping experiences to consumers whove come to expect them. New Retail is going to define how the rest of the world will have to operate in the future. The business model will be created here in China and will be exported. And with Alibaba were working on this together.

How the COVID-19 pandemic could change the retail industry

The Covid-19 Pandemic has changed how we function in our everyday lives. Non-essential services the retail stores and shopping centers have had to temporarily shut their doors following lock down orders to slow the spread of Covid-19. But once the lockdowns are lifted and we are allowed back to our favorite stores, will it be business as usual?

Physical retailers are going to have measures just like you see in the grocery stores today with the physical distancing signs. There are going to have to be those elements even in small boutiques. We are going to have to limit the amount of people that can come into the store. They are going to have to look at their store design, how do they handle fitting rooms, etc. Those things are going to put a damper on the experiences.

Along with measures like contactless shopping and curb-side pickup, we may change the way we may navigate.

We are going to see shopping malls being one way. Food courts are going to have to limit their space density. We wont be sitting at the sit up bars shoulder to shoulder anymore and so all those space areas, all of those common areas that we currently look at right now are things that we have to consider.

E-commerce has accelerated during the pandemic. Many first time online shoppers are also realizing the convenience of ordering goods and services from the comfort of their own homes. Behaviors may change permanently, some will choose to do click and collect as opposed to shopping in person because the inconvenience of having to line up, or wear a mask at the grocery store or at the mall is too much of an inconvenience so its just easier to shop online.

Consumer behavior will likely change. Canada lost 3 million jobs since the outbreak and the U.S. showed 20 million in April alone. Meaning people wont have the ability to shop like they used to. Some people in quarantine have reevaluated their priorities and may not feel the need to shop as often anymore and others will continue feeling anxious about their health and safety and may not shop in person.

Along with a surge in online shopping, we may also see a bump in other technologies. We are going to see an increase in adoption of augmented reality tools and applications that enable that sort of close up or as close to physical that you can get, shopping experience without actually having to go to the retail store.

But what about the retail experience that many customers look forward to? Walking through malls, window shopping, and trying on clothes.

I dont think the malls are going to go away, I mean the malls are still the place that some of your favorite big brands are at, again its a little bit about trust and safety and as long as they feel as though those measures are in place that they will be back into the malls.

Hutchinson says with time, Covid-19 fades and restrictions ease, things will eventually pick up pace as we create new technologically advanced reality. Good news is now is the time to trial and error those because the consumers might actually give you the benefit of the doubt.

Walton says although the pandemic has caused many losses to the retail industry, we can also look at it as an opportunity to grow, learn, and advance the way we shop.