Even as the coronavirus pandemic was still a distant threat, restaurants and other retail categories were testing the waters with digital payments and mobile ordering. Then COVID-19 threw them into the deep end of digital commerce.
As stores reopened from lockdown, they attempted a hybrid approach that included outdoor dining, digital menus, new pickup options and more. But with more people venturing out into the world, there's a renewed risk of infection, so there's still work to be done to accommodate dining and other retail categories safely when the very definition of safety is still changing.
At this point in the pandemic, no one wants a temporary solution to the problem. They want a way to conduct business that will last well into the recovery — whether that means accommodating a different kind of in-store shopping or handling more business in the cloud. And any upgrade comes with concerns about security, training and customer preference.