The role of social media by retail companies during the Covid-19 pandemic

Abstract

This research paper sets out to understand the role social media plays in retail companies in today’s world. Marketing strategies have had to adapt to this new way of marketing products and services, and it has now become one of the most cost-effective methods of marketing, not to mention giving a lot of exposure to a company or brand. It also serves as a communication platform. These general findings pave the way to more specific findings which are the way in which social media was used by retailers during the Covid-19 pandemic. The qualitative interviews that were carried out allowed marketing managers of medium sized businesses that were directly affected by the pandemic to voice their opinion on the subject and how they were able to keep communication going with their customer base and keep relationships intact at a time when the store could not be opened. Furthermore, how they were able to continue their operations that are not defined as essential. From the findings, it resulted that social media was very much needed for the reasons mentioned and it also served as a basis to see whether certain companies should launch an e-commerce site. While in Malta social media has definitely not reached its full potential, one can draw up that it had significant advantages for the retail sector. Given the pandemic is still with us and people are still cautious, and the fact that social media is always being developed in new ways, this research fills a small gap in what can be done on an even larger scale.