We’ve arrived at the beginning: Hold On

Last weekend I had some panic purchasing to do. I had a (socially distanced) ‘party’ to attend and I needed to look smart (so I didn’t let my wife down. I like scruffy…she doesn’t). There was a smart set attending and my wardrobe required an upgrade. #lockdowntum 🙁
Off I headed to Guildford with my personal shopper (17-year-old daughter) and golly, what a disappointment. I can now officially confirm that the high street is changing (has changed): The shops are empty, the customers are not there, the experience is not a patch on what it used to be and the stock levels (choice) is poor.
I think I will finally have to bite the bullet and switch to online shopping.
Loads of refunds, loads of deliveries, management of cash flow (loads of over-ordering and cash leaving my account but taking forever to refund). My whole ‘shopping’ approach is going to have to change.
2 questions – what will be replaced on the high street?
Jobs moving from customer-facing to warehouse, software and automation – robots basically.
Is the events industry facing a similar moment – an arrival at the beginning of a new way of doing events?
I don’t think so.
I think the industry will find an EXTRA way of doing events.
Events will still happen and they will come back – albeit slowly and gradually. My prediction is Autumn next year for a full-on return. From October this year, each month will be better than the last, but it won’t get back to ramming speed until September 2021. So that would have been 18 months of hell for our industry.
The impact that Covid has had on the high street is the equivalent to 10 years worth of gradual change and I think it’s probably the same for events. Digital was coming to our industry but it’s happened so brutally quickly that at times it’s been hard to comprehend.
Our industry is changing shape before our very eyes and it’s a rollercoaster: Frightening as hell and yet exhilarating at the same time.
I think we have arrived at the beginning. Hang on, white knuckles all round.
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