San Francisco, Jan. 22, 2021 – Airtable, a leading enterprise software company trusted by teams at over 200,000 companies, including over half of the Fortune 1000, released a study this week on how the year 2020—and the pandemic that defined it—have changed the face of the retail industry. The study, conducted by Lawless Research, found morale in the industry is surprisingly strong: 65% of retailers say they are optimistic about 2021’s economic climate.
“I am optimistic, surprisingly. Just like everyone else,” said Michael Zung, Co-Founder and CEO of Bloomist, and one of over 600 study participants. “I think there’s a sense that we’ve seen the worst—it can only get better from here. I’d be happy to get back into physical retail, but for now, we have the good fortune to be working in categories that are growing.”
The study also found hiring is on the rise, with 54% of retailers reporting they had increased employee headcount throughout the year. An additional 23% said they had maintained their existing workforce. This aligns with findings from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, which noted an uptick in jobs for retail trade at the end of 2020.
Despite the increases in headcount, the study found nearly all retail employees – a staggering 93% – have had to take on additional responsibilities in 2020. Retailers noted that increased responsibilities were spread both vertically, from front-line employees to senior managers, and horizontally, with new responsibilities covering everything from additional projects (46%), more attention to ecommerce (39%) and increased supervisory authority (31%).
In the radically altered retail landscape of 2020, more than three quarters of retailers (79%) reported an increase in the use of digital tools in 2020. Nearly four in five reported a substantial (40%) or moderate (39%) increase in digital tools over the course of 2020. And making more use of digital tools is paying off. Increase in tool use correlated with similar gains in productivity, with 84% of retailers reporting that digital tool use made them more productive while working remotely.
Looking to 2021, retailers are planning to continue their reliance on digital tools. The study found 98% said their digital tool stack will grow or stay the same in 2021. This is likely thanks to the resulting productivity gains of 2020 as well as new processes and digital-first services that they established during the pandemic. Retailers are planning to continue some form of remote work: 56% of respondents expect their companies to rely on a mix of remote and in-office work post-pandemic, which will also necessitate a continued reliance on technology.
About Airtable
Airtable is a leading low-code platform used by more than 200,000 companies, including half of the Fortune 1000, to create customized workplace applications, build more interconnected teams and organizations, and take part in a growing community of people who share what they create. With over $350M in funding, the company is backed by Benchmark, Thrive Capital, CRV Caffeinated Capital and Coatue Management.