COVID-19 has sparked a new wave of innovation across consumer industries in Canada, according to Accenture research

The pandemic forced a rapid shift to consumers working from home, with many expressing that they want flexibility in how and where they work moving forward. Sixty-nine per cent of Canadians who will continue to telecommute once the pandemic subsides say that they would like to occasionally work from a “third space” — a location other than their home or place of employment — and about 30 per cent said they would be willing to pay a fee out of their own pockets to work from a café, bar, hotel, or retailer with a dedicated space. This highlights a potential opportunity to grow revenue for the hospitality and retail industries.

The desire to work from a “third space” is accompanied by a shift in attitudes towards business travel. Fifty-three per cent of Canadian respondents who normally travel for business expect to reduce such activities in the future. How long this view will hold firm remains to be seen, but the current outlook indicates that the return to travel will resume principally within the leisure market, pushing the industry to adapt and become even more efficient to make up for lost income.

“Travel and hospitality firms have had to be both creative and practical to find new revenue streams in order to keep the lights on over the past very challenging year,” said Daniel Bunyan, managing director and travel industry lead at Accenture in Canada. “We have seen hotel rooms converted into pop-up restaurants while others have created a ‘third space’ for those looking for a temporary office setting outside of their home. While there has been experimentation with innovation in select pockets, companies need to scale these new services and address travellers’ renewed focus on health and safety, for example, by using the cloud to help enable fully contactless interactions.”

Not only do consumers think some of their work habits and travel plans have likely permanently changed, many also think their shopping habits have evolved for the long haul. The latest research supports Accenture’s previously released findings that the dramatic rise in e-commerce is likely to remain or accelerate further. For instance, the proportion of online purchases for products such as food, home décor, fashion, and luxury goods by previously infrequent e-commerce users in Canada — defined as those who used online channels for less than 25 per cent of purchases prior to the outbreak — has increased 316 per cent since the outbreak.

Robin Sahota, a managing director at Accenture who leads its retail practice in Canada said, “Many leading retailers handled the rush to online shopping with relative ease based on past investments in technology, while others had to quickly accelerate their journeys to cloud and digital. When we get past the pandemic, across retail sectors, companies will need to continue to meet consumer demand for online shopping but also increase the efficiency of the channel to enable profit growth. This next retail transformation will require new investments in micro-fulfilment and supply chains, stores of the future, and the future worker, who will drive new experiences.”