Accelerating the transformation? The impact of COVID-19 on the digital maturity of retail businesses

Cordes A.-K., Musies N.

Abstract

The lock-down situation and subsequent restrictions as response to the COVID-19 pandemic led to a decline in revenue, liquidity bottlenecks and complicated customer management for German retailers. The crisis has put the organizations in a situation to rethink customer experience, business models, processes and IT. Thus, COVID-19 may be a tipping point for retailers to accelerate their digital transformation. For this study, a Digital Maturity Model is adjusted and transferred to construct a set of questions investigating the impact of COVID-19 on the digital maturity of retail businesses. In semi-structured and open-ended expert interviews, nine participants from retail businesses were asked to report the impact of COVID19 on the digital transformation in the different dimensions. The participating organizations changed the way of collaboration. New business models in E-Commerce were created. Further, less digitally mature organizations were found to pursue their digital transformation stronger.