Retail transformation by COVID-19 within 48 hours

Due to the influence of the virus, Maxima Latvija changed the daily routine of its 7,500 employees within a few days, with the primary focus on the safety of employees and customers in almost 200 stores throughout Latvia. The company has introduced around 30 different initiatives to reduce the spread of the virus. It has left significant impact on results - customer number has dropped by 30%. E-commerece—using our online grocery platform www.barbora.lv—has become an irreplaceable part of the public’s daily life, with the company’s operations expanded to 33 pickup points throughout Latvia. Therefore we have summarised the most significant trends and changes characterising the “new normal” for the retail

 

 

In the beginning of March, most common daily routine in the grocery strore - cashiers at your favourite store awaited you at checkout and handed you a shopping bag if needed; now, cashiers greet you from behind protective glass, wearing rubber gloves and with sanitizer close at hand to limit the spread of the virus. Changes are similar at self-checkouts: while we previously would have seen glass safety visors being worn by friends mowing the lawn, they are now being worn by consultants at self-checkouts. The way people move within the store has also been strictly regulated both with stickers and markings on the pavement, as well as by using security personnel and even periodically closing the store doors during the day in order to control flow of the people. These are just some of the safety measures introduced by Maxima Latvia to ensure that a visit to the store is pleasant and, most importantly, safe.

Also the lives of most of the society have changed dramaticaly, Maxima Latvia priority has been to ensure that customers lack nothing and can get value for money. As a result of the state of emergency, the Latvian economy is expected to have a downturn, so it is unavoidable that the public will have fewer funds. Therefore, bearing in mind the COVID-19 crisis and the slowing of economic development, Maxima Latvija is freezing prices on products and goods throughout the state of emergency, while at the same time even continuing to find opportunities to lower prices. Additionally, Maxima Latvia has come out in favour of reducing VAT on fresh products including fresh meat, fish, eggs and dairy products, which would allow us to lower prices further and make it easier for the Latvian public to weather the crisis.

Before the state of emergency, home delivery was for our own convenience—saving time and sometimes our sanity by ordering goods remotely without visiting a store and receiving them at our front door at the most convenient time. Since the beginning of March, the situation has changed significantly—people who were in quarantine, self-isolation and in at-risk groups saw online stores and having their products delivered to their home as their only choice in the situation. Maxima Latvija has very good foundations in e-commerce, so along with its business partner barbora.lv was able to react quickly to the situation by increasing the capacity of its website and recruiting new employees to enable as many customers to be served as possible. In reaction to high demand outside of Riga, orders were also able to be picked up  at one of 33 pickup points throughout Latvia within a week.

Interestingly, as the virus arrived in Latvia, the way people viewed different professions has changed—right now, hearing customers’ good reviews and words of thanks to store employees, their work is valued twice as highly, increasing the prestige of the profession. At a time when most of society is working remotely and avoiding visiting public places store employees—cashiers, floor employees and others —are the ones who continue distributing food to citizens of Latvia, which is why those in this role are currently being compared to doctors, police officers and other essential workers. This has also been recognised by the Ministry of Health, which has included retail workers in its group of those entitled to free virus tests.

 

This high interest proves that the public is increasingly interested in the stability and development prospects offered by work in the Maxima Latvia store chain—interest in job vacancies is at a record level. Since the state of emergency has been announced, more than 540 new employees have started work, and some days even saw a record number of new job contracts signed: 40. 

Maxima Latvija has noticed that people’s shopping habits have changed and are now shopping less often, but buying more at once, which is very responsible customer behaviour and proves that people are listening to the authorities. Equally, fewer people are visiting shopping centres: Maxima customer numbers have fallen by up to 50%, meaning that our Maxima XXX stores are currently the ones where social distancing is easiest.

We are pleased that our customers are making increasing use of the technology in our stores—in the past few weeks, the use of self-service checkouts and contactless cards has increased by a significant amount. 

The restrictions introduced by the government have impacted how people behave in public, including in stores: in general, Maxima Latvija has noticed a tolerance and willingness to wait for the space in front of the shelf they need to clear to avoid crowding. An increasing number of customers are choosing to use a shopping trolley instead of a basket, which automatically helps maintain distance.

This is a time when the help of those around us can be felt particularly usefull. People are protecting their family members in quarantine or self isolation, helping them to obtain the groceries and household products they need. If family members or friends cannot help, help can be found on social media. These networks can be used to ask a work colleague or old school friend living close by, or get involved in a volunteer group through which people can both receive and give help to purchase basic necessities for those who need them most.

 

In general, those businesses who were  and are able to react quickly to adapt to the situation, offering safe grocery shopping and introducing various initiatives for reducing the spread of the virus will be less impacted in the end of the day. The current situation, which requires social distancing, will certainly have long-lasting consequences on people’s shopping habits in-store and remotely going forward. For some of the public, shopping online using grocery retail platforms such as www.barbora.lv will become part of the way they organise their daily life, while, when shopping in person, complying with safety measures will become a habit. Maxima Latvija expects and is already seeing a trend of people paying greater attention to product prices, and, knowing how many industries and their employees are affected by the state of emergency, the company is continuing to look for ways to reduce prices in order to offer high-quality products at constantly low prices.

 

 

Liene Dupate-Ugule
Head of Communications, SIA "Maxima Latvija”
Tel.: 26425420

e-mail: liene.dupate@maxima.lv
www.maxima.lv