How COVID-19 Could Accelerate the Adoption of New Retail Technologies and Enhance the (E-)Servicescape

The current COVID-19 pandemic and containment regulations bring unseen challenges to service organizations. The physical and social servicescape are heavily impacted by government regulations on social distancing and people’s fear of contamination. Retailing has traditionally predominantly been a ‘game of people’, yet faced with the consequences of this pandemic, our innate preference for a ‘human touch’ seems to decline. This not only boosts e-commerce but also paves the way for the accelerated adoption of technological advancements in brick-and-mortar retailing, as their perceived usefulness has increased. Retailing is steadily being infused with digital technology and these technologies could prove especially valuable in the post-pandemic ‘new normal’, preventing the erosion of the customer- and employee experience. Particular problems to be solved are, among others, managing waiting lines, disinfection, diminished interpersonal contact between customers and frontline employees, in-store crowding, less testing and touching of products, payment, and delivery. This chapter discusses what challenges COVID-19 poses to conventional (e-)servicescapes, and how technologies, ranging from augmented- and virtual reality, over robots and wireless payment, to sensory-enabling technologies for webshops, can offer solutions. Successful business applications are presented, while also considering hurdles. This chapter demonstrates how the current pandemic crisis could catalyze the digital augmentation of retailing and services.