2020 is a pivotal year for various sectors in the commerce industry, and post-2020 is uncertain at best. We are at month five of a new world (I despise the new normal references) as commerce continues to evolve to something new, we are still not talking about specific topics. Retail and online trade is sophisticated, and I wish we would talk about certain supposed hard things more. The silence on these topics makes my head spin.

The silence – movie reference

The title of this post relates to the Harry Potter movies, whose primary villain, Lord Voldemort, who was not to be named by students at the school or in the cities from the film. The villain is also visible in commerce and executives, seemingly do not want to talk about specific relevant topics.

When you’re in the middle of a crisis, you tend to overestimate how permanent its effects will be.

Paul Graham

While I have great respect for Graham, commerce will never be the same after the virus. Let’s be realistic for once and say out loud things commerce executives do not want to talk about in public.

The league of shadows

• Returns – the inconvenient truth no-one is wanting to admit to. Returns currently are out of mind and sight due to the apparel sector being impacted by its biggest crisis post World War 2. The way in which we return products will have to change and what happens at the warehouse or shop will either be more margin damage or an opportunity for profitability.
• Unemployment – the numbers just keep piling up. I may be overthinking this topic but retail has provided a large percentage of employment for generations. Retailers are filing for chapter 11 protection, bankruptcy yet we are not talking about where these associates/executives’ next paycheck will be coming from? Yes, it is nice to make air tables and websites with listings of those who lost their employment but what is a more tangible solution?
• Counterfeits remains a huge risk for brands, marketplaces, and consumers. Until it affects you or a loved one, it is somebody else’s problem. I want to believe that there are interesting startups solving this problem yet I have been able to find a handful.
• Indecision remains at all-time high which will lead to catastrophic events for brands and businesses. Warren Buffet who most probably has ice or I mean diet cola in his veins called it out in 1986. Fear and greed are comparable to ‘super-contagious diseases’ and ‘epidemics.’
• Herd thinking is something I encounter often. Just because your rival is selling on Amazon does not mean that you have to be selling on Amazon. Diligence and strategy is required to maximize an opportunity as large as Amazon without harming your business.

A call to action

This is an open call to startups that are solving the above problem or problems. I want to hear about you and your solution as commerce is in the middle of a generational shift in which our experiences will be different and technology is going to become more part of it.