A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, the Universe was in a right old pickle.  As Star Wars fans will attest it took the collegiate strength of the Rebel Alliance to rein in the menace of the Empire, with characters such as Obi-Wan Kenobi and then odd little Yoda emerging as teachers and mentors, espousing good over evil, to create a staggeringly successful, obscenely profitable film franchise.  Or were they trying to save the Universe?  I can't remember.

Odd little Yoda has since been credited with myriad words of wisdom, used and abused by creators of PowerPoint presentations around the world for decades.  Jumping on the cliché bandwagon, here's one to resonate in today's COVID-ravaged Retail arena:

“In a dark place we find ourselves, and a little more knowledge lights our way.”

There's no denying the 'darkness of the dark' Retail & Hospitality is facing as a result of the pandemic.  Resurgence of the virus, so-called second wave strikes, threaten to derail the tentative, fragile steps the sector is undertaking as it seeks to claw back some of the sales, revenue and operating income lost as a result of lockdown - particularly Bricks & Mortar high street outlets which have suffered devastating footfall disappearance.  The timing of the UK Government's latest, now legally-enforceable restrictions, the so-called 'Rule of Six', couldn't be much worse with less than three weeks to go before the start of the industry's Golden Quarter.  Every year, Retail & Hospitality pins collective hope on being able to generate the bulk of revenues in the final three months of the calendar year to sustain operations, manage costs and lay foundations for future investments - but 2020 is going to be simply unprecedented with the outcome(s) potentially catastrophic for many.

Just two weeks ago I wrote about interconnectedness and how everything is in some way connected to everything else.  The UK's The Times newspaper carried an article on Saturday 12 September in which this tenet was illustrated using the findings of a survey undertaken by hotel chain Travelodge.  The statistics are pretty sobering:

Christmas parties

"Workers spend £10 Billion socialising with colleagues at Christmas.  The average employee goes out ten times in December, attending five drinks events, three lunches and two festive dinners."  The average spend on this is £304 per person.

Clothes retailers

"Research suggests that the average person spends £310 on clothes to wear at Christmas events."

Hotels and travel

"10% of workers book a hotel room to stay overnight after a Christmas party."

Should the Rule of Six effectively cancel Christmas company celebrations it's easy to see how the interconnectedness of things will impact multiple sectors concurrently.  Only time will tell if the resurgence can be brought back under control and the UK Government sees fit to lift these new restrictions in time to save this year's Golden Quarter hopes - but the omens aren't good, are they?

So much of this unfolding, slow-motion industry car crash is out of anyone's hands.  Yet it will be those businesses which embrace genuine Digital Transformation which stand the best chance of surviving.  Using Data to understand how, where and when Retailing 101 initiatives are having best impact across necessary omnichannel operations, moving us ever nearer to omni-Digital consumers who have no intention of interacting with Retail in ways other than digitally, is the only way to recognise and take advantage of interconnectedness.  As Yoda says, "a little more knowledge lights our way.”

I'll leave the last word to Yoda again - this time, very much a Digital Transformation call to arms:

“Do or do not. There is no try.”