The go-forward challenge for retailers is sorting out the short-term effects of the pandemic from the long-term shifts in shopping behaviors and demand patterns, according to new data from advisory firm BDO in its 2021 BDO Retail CFO Outlook Survey. The biggest supply chain challenge for the retail industry is getting inventory levels right, cited by more than a third (35 percent) of middle-market retail CFOs.
“The reality is that if everything is a priority, then nothing is. Luckily consumers have made clear what their priorities are during this crisis,” said Jennifer Valdivia, assurance partner in BDO’s retail & consumer products practice. “They have helped define what goods, channels and attributes are considered essential. It’s on retailers to sync their offerings with these preferences, and then be prepared to do it all over again when current definitions inevitably get rewritten.”
For its real estate footprint, retailers are shifting more
