1: Introduction

This chapter provides an overview of the retail landscape during the pandemic, by showing facts and figures of consumers and Governments' containing measures in Europe. It further provides some guidelines and support for retailers to be more ready to react to the environmental changes, along five main areas: (1) rethinking the in-person experience, (2) enhancing digital channels for shopping, (3) investing in digital capabilities, (4) embracing agile and flexible approaches and (5) developing new retail business models. It finally concludes with a brief summary of the remaining chapters of the book.