Retail Roundup: Amazon-Proof Strategies, 7 Reasons To Stay Bullish

Late last year, Natalie Kotlyar gave a presentation titled, “Is retail dead?” While that was a question on everyone’s mind in 2016 and 2017, it’s largely disappeared this year, replaced by investors’ queries about how long the retail revival can run. Kotlyar, assurance partner at accounting and advisory firm BDO and leader of its Retail & Consumer Products practice, argues that retailers are starting to find ways to co-exist in an Amazon.com world, leading to more stabilization and even positive same-store sales for many brick-and-mortar companies. To be sure, Amazon is still an incredibly powerful force in the retail world, and rivals are unlikely to be able to match its logistics and delivery capabilities, selection, and in many cases, pricing. “In order for retailers to be successful, they have to emphasize and focus on what Amazon is not good at: experience; customer service; partnerships with influencers; and personalization.” And while Amazon may have plenty of data to parse customer habits and preferences, she argues that algorithms can only take a retailer so far–consumers, it turns out, are still seeking the experience of shopping. Read more at Barron’s.