To say that the way we shop has changed over the last ten years would be an understatement. But the recent uptick of brands offering split-payment services like Afterpay, Klarna, and QuadPay just further proves that consumers are really thinking differently about their purchases. As a result, retailers are having to adjust their experiences accordingly to stay relevant.
In a Zoom-conversation event hosted by The New York Times to discuss the fallout of retail during COVID-19, co-host and DealBook editor Jason Karaian pointed out that retail sales in the United States have fallen 10% since the mid-March lockdown (clothing stores, in particular, dipping 50%). This current decline makes sense, as Americans put their basic needs before shopping for a new pair of shoes, but one glance at Karaian’s sales growth chart from the last 14 years confirms that brands are going to have to try a…