It might change the way many/some people shop. For me personally, I live in a rural area with few options so online shopping is nearly my norm even before the pandemic. I still have to pick up most of my orders from the post office in town. Online shopping does not allow me to avoid face to face contact with other people. Only a few courier services would drop off packages at our place.

Retail has always been changing. Remember when we had downtowns ,then outdoor malls ,then indoor malls,then strip malls, then recreated downtowns and now we have online malls,AKA Amazon.
I have a feeling I'll see one more change after this one.

Even before the pandemic, online shopping made the concept of a superstore seems inefficient/old fashioned to me in so many ways. It takes time and effort to travel to a physical store with no guarantee that you will even find what you are looking for. In addition, fully stocked stores will inevitably have unsold inventory which is wasteful and not at all eco-conscious. I envision a small storefront type model with limited inventory where consumers can see, touch or try on samples and then purchase made-to-order items in the desired size, color etc. This would help eliminate the production of unneeded goods.
Anecdotally, even people with jobs and resources tell me they are spending less and realizing they are needing less. Shopping as an activity is becoming less and less appealing. This pandemic may be the thing that turns the tide away from conspicuous consumption and rampant consumerism. At least I hope so.

Do you remember a chain called “Service Merchandise” back in the 70s and 80s? They were a showroom with 1display of each inventory item. You could look at it, feel, turn it on etc. If you wanted to buy, you put the item info on a clipboard and turned that in, paying at that time. Then the item(s) would come down a large conveyor, in full packaging. I am thinking that they gave up a little too soon. A hybrid of physical store and online ordering might really work, now.

I agree with you, I have to try on clothes, esp shoes, before buying. I think one item fits of every ten I try on! Also, I really need to see produce before buying. I stock up on what’s looking good that day.

If my personal thoughts are anything to go by, I will probably enjoy going back to the high street at least, but will still be shopping on line more than I did a year ago. there will be a balance found eventually, and I think that there is value in seeing and handling the goods, and speaking to the sellers in person, ( especially in the smaller high street shop ) but the big out of town stores, not so much.

I do not think the shelves are bare because the stores cannot be bothered, I think that the shelves are bare because we are teetering on the brink of severe shortages or perhaps just failing harvesting & distribution, poorly covered up by speading the shelves thinly with whatever they have so mass panic does not ensue.
Remember what happened with TP, for no reason whatsoever? Now imagine if even just a few foodstuffs were suddenly seen to be "unavailable". I am buying a gun.

I never was a recreational shopper, and only used shopping malls as needed for gift buying. Over the past couple decades, the rude and inconsiderate behavior of other shoppers, crowded retail staging, and parking hassles just magnified that. Online shopping suits me in so many ways to comparison shop, select delivery/pickup options, avoid crowds, now more than ever!

A little of both maybe. I'm guessing in-store shopping will rebound but online shopping and delivery will have been given a boost and will stick around.

I've been shopping online for a while. Not due to the v, but because I just don't like being around people, and have found it to be cheaper.

No, I very much doubt it. Humans are social creatures and need interaction with each other. Some people do not have friends and the only interaction they have is with the shop assistant.

I haven't seen a movie in a theater for a year. In fact, the last movie I saw in a theater was Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and it was awful. I really want to go see movies in theaters again. I'm wondering if that will ever be something we can do now that most movies are released through a streaming service.

Sure hope so. It will cut down on traffic. However, it may increase consumerism.

Personally, I like to go to see products in person. I don't think I am alone in this.

The pandemic will change shopping practices to some extent and after the pandemic is over, things won't go completely back the the way things were, but some of the old shopping ways will partially return.

Before the pandemic, I'd look at products on line and look at product reviews before I buy things. When it came to my TV, I went to Best Buy and looked to see which TVs had to best picture, and then bough the TV on line which save me $300. That was after I also checked the product reviews on line.

I found that if you use the 20% off coupons at Bed Bath and Beyond, the product price is usually lower than the Amazon price for a lot of products. I save the coupans as they come int he mail because you can only use one coupon per item, but most locations will also take expired store coupons. One time I went near Christmas, and I had about half a dozen coupons left in the stack, so after making my purchase I turned aroudn to the customers in line and handed them out to other customers in line.

Anyway, for some things, you just want to see the product in person before buying it. I think many store chains will go out of business or reduce locations. In turn this will in turn force malls and other commercial spaces to lower the ratailer's rents, which will keep some stores in business.

The trend for online shopping over in person retail shopping has been evolving for some time now. There's no telling though, as people need socialization, so it's possible an in person revitalization may swing the pendulum back towards retail. But then I think the popular trend will swing back to internet. Just my take on it.

For me personally my shopping habits have changed once we were able to order online, now with the pandemic yes I agree that it's much easier to order ahead hopefully the people pulling the orders are being paid at a rate where they can survive also. And now for something really important. where's the donuts!

I don't think I will ever shop in quite the same way again. I prefer shopping in person because items are more expensive with delivery fees, and it's harder to see what's on sale. That being said, I do like the pick-up feature for when my day is full or I just don't have the energy to shop.

Yes and NO BUT maybe the good side of it might actually be that people may just realize (????) for a change that Hoarding Dunny (Toilet ) paper is NOT an effective anti-virus measure....LOL.

Stores like Walmart and Target I could see going away sooner than they would have because of all this.

But to put lowes and home depot in that same breath is foolish. Anyone who knows what they're doing always inspects lumber before they purchase it. Getting rid of those won't happen as long as we have a construction industry.

I find that ordering things online for home delivery , increases the costs of most delivered items . With everyone claiming being underpaid for working , and also loosing income due to the pandemic , I keep wondering how they think they can waste their income for this kind of convience ?

Ask Bezos.

it already has

Walmart will still be around, and they started walmart+.

Personally, I much prefer to shop in person hence I can see, choose and, hopefully know that I AM getting exactly what I want and that it is, in some way, actually fresh or new rather than someone else's junk.

I will always continue to do a fair amount of in person shopping, esp. for clothing and food, because I want to see in person what I'm buying, as well as the convenience and savings, as long as stores continue to allow in person shopping. With clothing I always want to be able to try things on to be sure they fit. I am skeptical about buying everything online and having to go by photos and info about a product. I want to see and touch things most of the time, unless it's a book, DVD or CD. Those things I don't need to see in person to know what I'm buying. Even with electronics, I want to see things in person before buying them, even if it's just a demo model. I can't believe people are willing to spend tens of thousands of dollars on buying a car online that they have not seen in person to look at even a demo model.

I don't do impulse buying and most advertising doesn't work on me. I guess I'm just smarter and more skeptical than most.