Retailers of all kinds, including local independents with little or no experience in online sales, have scrambled to adapt. Consumers continue to demand speed of delivery and convenience. They want ease of ordering, rapid order fulfilment and free or cheap delivery. The traditional model of regional distribution centres isn’t available to many retailers, and even major players have struggled to keep up with the increased demand and speed requirements of the current consumer.48, 49 The result is a growing requirement for localized stocking and order fulfilment closer to the consumer50, 51 that is playing out in several ways:

• “Dark” format stores are expanding, with kitchens52, 53 and retail units54 used for back end order fulfilment designed for curbside pickup or delivery, with no traditional “front of house” consumer-facing aspect.
• Existing retail space,55 which was either redundant or surplus to requirements, is being repurposed56 to facilitate “click and collect” models. Retailers are adjusting the “front end” consumer-facing component of the store for showroom or experiential space to complement traditional browse-and-buy activity57. In-store staff, coupled with technology investments are being channelled into order picking and back of house fulfilment activities58. This is in addition to sales and stocking.59, 60
• Retailers who had limited previous online capability typically lack the infrastructure to fulfil internet orders and are having to piggyback on existing last-mile solutions. They are partnering with local delivery specialists such as Deliveroo, with Uber trialling its Uber Direct model, to provide localised delivery services for retailers61. In the U.K., grocery retailers made use of the Uber Eats service to help meet the surge in demand at the height of the pandemic62.
• Especially for essential items, micro-fulfilment centers are being established to provide rapid stock replenishment to groups of stores, particularly in urban environments where multiple outlets exist but in-store space for stock is limited63.