TURNING CHALLENGES INTO OPPORTUNITIES DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: FIELDNOTES FROM “PEOPLE IN RETAIL”

COVID -19 caused a shift in the evolutionary trend in retailing, from incremental to more transformative (Dannenberg et al., 2020). This paper aims to shed light on the transformations that will take place in the retail sector in the near future, focusig on the relationship between the human factor and technology. More specifically, due to their relevance in maintaining and managing customer relationships in the "cross-channel" situation caused by the pandemic, our main hypothesis is that frontline employees are among the top priorities, if not the top priority, of retail organizations. We have adopted a qualitative approach based on researching and conceptualizing the thoughts, opinions and experiences of those who have experiencedì the pandemic crisis at its worst.