Dr Louise Grimmer

The future of retail: connecting with the post-COVID-19 consumer 

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​​Consumer behaviour has changed radically as a result of COVID-19 and many of these shifts in how people shop will continue post-pandemic. Some of the trends that have emerged include:
  • A significant and very rapid increase in online shopping across product categories (particularly among Millennials and higher-earning consumers)
  • Consumers becoming much more mindful about where they shop, with a noticeable shift to local stores, as well as what they buy (an emphasis on local and Australian-made products)
  • An increase in product and information searching online, prior to final purchase (either in-store or online)
  • The increased adoption of technology, and digital and social media marketing by retailers of all sizes to better connect with existing and new customers
  • Brand switching behaviour (particularly to private label brands) is on the rise as a result of a number of factors (economic pressures, changing consumer priorities, a focus on value for money), and this is most evident amongst Generation Z and high-earning consumers
  • A surge in contactless shopping activities (such as click and collect, curb side pickup, food and grocery home delivery) to meet consumer concerns about health and hygiene
Dr Louise Grimmer is a Senior Lecturer in Marketing and a Retail Researcher in the Tasmanian School of Business and Economics at the University of Tasmania. Louise researches small and independent retail marketing strategy, how marketing communications can help retailers grow their firms, and issues management and crisis communications in the context of the retail industry. Louise is currently conducting the ‘Doing business during COVID-19’ Tasmanian business survey and she is also leading a number of other retail research projects including research on local shopping behaviour, retail precinct marketing, supermarket and grocery store branding, tourist shopping behaviour, and how the digital economy is transforming traditional modes of shopping. Louise’s retail research has been published in leading international, peer-reviewed journals including Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Journal of Small Business Management and Journal of Consumer Behaviour.
Louise is one of Australia’s leading academic retail experts. She is regularly sought out by local and national media seeking her expert commentary on retail and marketing matters and in the last three years she has been involved in over 300 media interviews across print, online, radio and television. During 2020 Louise has been extensively interviewed about the impact of COVID-19 on the retail sector in Australia. This year she has featured on ABC TV’s The Business program, ABC Radio National’s Life Matters, Mamamia podcast The Quicky, Sunrise, and ABC News. She is regularly interviewed for leading news outlets including  ABC news, news.com.au, The New Daily, Australian Financial Review, the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The West Australian, NZ Herald. Louise has been interviewed on radio in every state and territory in Australia, she writes regularly for The Mercury, and has 27 articles on retailing and marketing published in the The Conversation. Her work has been republished nationally and internationally including BBC News, SBS, ABC News, Mumbrella, Domain, Business Insider, stuff.co.nz, CommercialRealEstate.
Louise is a Member (and Certified Practising Marketer) of the Australian Marketing Institute (AMI), a Member of the American Marketing Association (AMA) and a Fellow of the Institute of Place Management (FIPM). Louise has worked as a radio presenter on ABC Radio and hosts the retail podcast ‘Shopology’.