In between the various stages of the lockdown here in Malaysia, did you ever attempt to step foot in a shopping mall? Did the empty shop lots make you feel like you were a character in an apocalyptic movie and leave you wondering if things will ever go back to normal?

After publishing the article “Is Traditional Retail Dead? 3 Real Estate Trends to Watch Post-Pandemic”, we asked our followers a series of questions to see what they thought.

Here is what they said.

Is traditional retail dead?

The first question was whether they believe that traditional retail is dead or not.

52%, the majority of the respondents answered “YES” and the rest voted that things will soon go back to normal.

Considering the majority answered yes, it was interesting to see the answers to the following questions. Although more felt that the days of traditional retail was over, the majority also admitted that they still prefer to shop in-store (the traditional way) rather than online (the new normal way).

Would you rather shop in-store or online?

65% said they preferred to shop for clothes in-store rather than online and 81% said they preferred to buy groceries in-store rather than online. 

Furthermore, we asked our followers what they had witnessed in the retail scene lately. 

Have you noticed new retailers open up recently?

83% noticed a lot of new grocery stores that had opened up recently and 61% said they had seen a lot of new cafes and restaurants launch recently.

So what is considered “traditional” retail and will things ever go back to normal or have things changed forever? According to the Instagram polls, our followers still prefer to shop in-store and there are even newly launched retail stores that are up and running.

In the article mentioned, there were three key factors revealed that affected retail in East Malaysia, including the type of retail that appears to be in demand and a look into what is working and what isn't.

Read the full article here. 

At the end of the day, change is always inevitable and retailers need to adapt to optimise the use of digitalization and create unique personal in-person shopping experiences to make it worthwhile.

Most importantly, we should stay safe and do our part to stop the spread of the virus. If this really is not the end to “traditional” retail, it will still be a while until things go back to normal. 

Wondering when we can reach herd immunity? Read: Consider All Venue to Speed Up Vaccination, Says SHAREDA