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As we continue transitioning toward a post-pandemic economy, mid-tier fashion stands out as one retail sector that is irrevocably changed. It's clear now that fashion retail will never return to a pre-COVID sales mix dominated by in-store purchases, nor are we ever going to see the levels of online sales that occurred during the height of the lockdowns.

To hear Ehab Tarabay explain it, the need for retailers to continue evolving their digital operations is an age-old problem. I recently hosted Tarabay, head of workplace IT services at TMF Group, on our That’s Great IT podcast. As an avid information technology specialist with a track record of more than 20 years in the technology field, he had a unique perspective to share about the shift that’s happening in retail right now.

Among the highlights of our most recent retail trade event appearances—NRF in New York and RILA LINK in Orlando—were our well-received feature presentations, spotlighting one of our major success stories among national retailers, our partnership with Walgreens.

Modern retail businesses have a lot on their plates. IT infrastructure needs to work spotlessly to provide exceptional user experiences. Even the tiniest system bug can result in shopping cart abandonment and bring the workflow to a standstill. Instead of waiting hours for an IT technician to arrive and fix the problem, tech-savvy retail businesses rely on you – a remote IT support provider.

While it’s fair to say there’s plenty of disagreement among many issues these days, most consumers—across all income levels—generally agree on something: a sense of pessimism surrounding our current economy. So says the Index of Consumer Sentiment, a widely regarded metric from the Surveys of Consumers, as tabulated by the University of Michigan.

During our very worthwhile appearance at NRF just a few weeks ago, quite a few questions from visitors to our booth revolved around the ongoing challenges affecting retail replenishment. Nobody needs to belabor the problem—our post-pandemic economy is still plagued by unwieldy supply chain disruptions, leaving retail customers regularly disappointed with empty shelves—leaving them little choice but to consider competing stores (or online options) for everyday items they rely upon.

One highlight of NRF 2023 was our well-received co-presentation with Walgreens Group VP Andy Kettlewell, joining our CEO, Sivakumar Lakshmanan to discuss Walgreens’ landmark AI demand planning transformation—serving 9 million daily customers’ health and wellness needs across almost 9,000 stores nationwide.