The president and CEO of the retailers’ trade group sits down with Mainebiz to talk about how his industry, one of the hardest hit by the pandemic, is also weathering it. And Picard is already thinking about the holiday shopping season.
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Curtis Picard, president and CEO of the Augusta-based Retail Association of Maine since November 2007, tends to have a good handle on industry trends. Mainebiz caught up with him for his take on how the sector is faring during the pandemic.
Mainebiz: How is Maine’s retail industry doing?
Curtis Picard: It certainly has been a challenging year. Maine retailers employ more than 80,000 people. It’s a huge sector of the economy. We started off 2020 with high expectations, but COVID-19 had other ideas. Many stores were completely shut down temporarily. Retailers transitioned to curbside service, and made sure their e-commerce platforms could handle increased traffic. Today, retail is still limited in the number of customers allowed to shop in person, but we are trying to be creative and innovative to make the best of a tough situation.
MB: What retail segments have fared well during COVID and which are of concern?
CP: Consumer behavior and spending changed rapidly which helped some specific categories. Early on, grocery stores flourished as people rushed to stock up and when restaurants were closed. Throughout the summer, we saw strong increases in home improvement spending and outdoor equipment as more people were spending time at home and outdoors. Our seasonal summer retailers were certainly challenged with the drop in tourism.
MB: How have shopping habits changed during the pandemic?
CP: One of the most interesting and impressive things to me has been how retailers quickly adapted their operations. Curbside delivery had been increasing with larger retailers like Hannaford-To-Go, but the smaller retailers quickly adapted, too. The innovation that has taken place in such a short period of time is nothing short of amazing.
MB: To what extent has retail been hurt by a decrease in tourism?
CP: We’re called Vacationland for a reason. Maine, not just the retail industry, is so reliant on tourism, especially in the summer. The impact was significant for retail, but also our restaurant and lodging industry and all of the other businesses that depend on people from away. The pandemic also revealed how many businesses are intertwined with tourism; 37 million visitors come to Maine in a non-pandemic year with most of them during the summer. It’s a huge impact.
MB: What sectors of e-commerce do you see gaining further momentum?
CP: I’ve always said that retail has always been and always will be super-competitive. It’s an ever-evolving industry that is constantly reinventing itself based on consumer demand. Consumers want shopping to be easy and convenient, and larger e-commerce retailers have worked hard to meet those needs with same-day delivery, wide product selections and competitive pricing. They set the pace that other retailers are following, and in some cases, starting to catch up.
MB: To what extent does Maine align with or buck national retail trends?
CP: In Maine, weather often has the biggest impact on sales trends, especially during the holiday shopping season. Bad weather hitting during Black Friday or the weekend before Christmas can turn an otherwise rosy holiday season into a lump of coal. However, I’ve seen Maine beat national predictions and sometimes come in a little behind. Reading the tea leaves for 2020 holiday shopping is a real challenge.
MB: What’s your outlook for the holiday season and beyond?
CP: We are very interested to see how Maine fares with the upcoming holiday shopping season and how much e-commerce will have an impact. Certainly, the large online retailers have seen double-digit growth in market share each year, but we’ve also seen an increase in the number of people shopping with a purpose and wanting to support their locally owned retailers. This year, that support is more critical than ever. We are hopeful that people understand that the holiday shopping season will be different this year, so start shopping early, wear your mask and practice kindness to the people working in the industry. We want to make sure these locally owned shops are still around when the pandemic is behind us.
