This time last year, after bushfires raged across Australia, our physical landscape had changed beyond recognition. Today, it’s the turn of our retail landscape, changed in response to the threat of a raging pandemic, as businesses reacted, adapted and evolved to survive.
By Peter Howard.
The pandemic wasn’t the only challenge driving change in the retail landscape. Other factors, including the need for greater sustainability, and the growing demand for Australian-made products, have led to a surge in innovation and product development.
The result of all this change has been the emergence of what economists believe is a new normal. Grocery shoppers have adopted new habits, stores have adopted new processes, and retailers have embraced new products and equipment to satisfy the demand for safety, sustainability and a secure local supply.
In the latest issue of Convenience World, we take a look at several examples of innovative store equipment and solutions.
One such example is from retail display and refrigeration cabinet specialist Hussmann.
Hussmann Commercial Director Oceania Gregory Malcolm says its Smart Exchange Lockers are currently being trialled by both major supermarket groups in 500 locations across Australia. 
“What’s exciting about the lockers is they service not only on-premises, but also off-premises click-and-collect solutions, and are available 24 hours a day,” he says.
“There’s currently a great deal of interest in the lockers from the social-distancing perspective, but the feedback is, after Covid, the convenience of a shopper being able to collect all their frozen, chilled and ambient temperature groceries from an on- or off-site locker solution at any time of day or night will make the lockers very popular indeed.”
