With Georgia spearheading efforts to resume business, over 30 other states across the US are expected to shortly follow suit. As a result, retailers across the country are preparing to reopen, with many wondering what business will look like in a post-COVID-19. Below are six steps that retailers can take today to get ready for the new normal:1. Develop an action plan and test it for a variety of outcomes.Although Georgia Governor Brian Kemp approved the reopening of retail businesses, his approval came with restrictions. These included limitations on occupancy and taking health precautions, such as implementing additional sanitation routines, screening for fevers, and staggering workstations to maintain social distancing. While these precautions were put in place to prevent a resurgence of the virus, many businesses failed to meet them, as they faced a lack of essential supplies and staffing shortages. This highlights a need for retailers to consider if they are adequately prepared to re-open under these evolving regulations. A plan that is tested for a number of different scenarios will be essential to keeping doors open.2. Actively communicate with your employees, especially those on the front-line.As an operator of your business and a voice to your customers, it's important to keep employees informed as you begin to reopen. Clearly communicating with your team will be key in supporting them through this transition, as customers turn to them for information on how your business will resume operations. Fostering a knowledgeable staff is dependent on having an ongoing and open communication stream, making it imperative that retailers develop an actionable plan to support their employees.3. Establish methods to mitigate your exposure to risk.With the governor's call to resume business, retailers large and small across Georgia showed mixed adoptions of safety protocols and government regulations, with some being a cause for concern. As a result, retailers need to determine if and how they will serve their clients, how they will provide risk-averse customers with a safe shopping experience, and how they will ensure compliance with local laws. This will require rethinking labor models, establishing and enforcing guidelines for employees and consumers, and having plans for managing risks as they arise. For some, this may entail taking more extreme measures, such as salons in Atlanta that are requiring customers to sign liability waivers. This demonstrates the need for retailers to ensure that they are protecting their employees and patrons, and are equipped with the right tools to do so.4. Understand changing consumer sentiments to remain profitable.COVID-19 has undoubtedly changed consumers' habits, with a utilitarian mindset emerging as customers are buying rather than shopping. This shift has left retailers struggling to adjust, with businesses being greeted by lower foot traffic and mixed responses to them reopening their doors. For many, this presents the need to adapt, by either enticing consumers through the use of creative value offerings that focus on function, safety, and convenience or by evaluating viable alternatives that respond to these evolving consumer needs.5. Emphasize your connection to the community.Between the $350 billion stimulus and efforts to support small businesses by shopping and eating locally, it's clear that the pandemic has turned our focus to our communities. Now more than ever, it's important for local and national retailers alike to highlight how they support their community, and will continue to do so, whether this is through donations to philanthropic organizations, aiding in the fight against the spread of COVID-19, or other acts of service. This creation of goodwill will not only help revive our country, but also solidify the values of these businesses in the minds of consumers.6. Use e-commerce to build momentum that will carry into the future.Businesses have long forecasted the growth of e-commerce, as technological advancements have allowed online shopping to become more widespread. However, with social distancing and stay-at-home orders, e-commerce has surged, with companies like Uber Eats, Shipt, and Instacart experiencing unprecedented growth. As retailers reopen, their efforts should be focused on emphasizing the purchasing channels that consumers prefer in order to maintain this momentum. With a spectrum of options for how to roll out e-commerce, retailers should rush to expand their capabilities and capacities to fill this new demand, in turn prioritizing evolving consumer behavior.Georgia has proved that the saying "open and they will come" may not necessarily be true, as many re-openings have not seen a return to business as usual. Shifts in consumer needs, behaviors, and industries as a whole will require companies to quickly adapt - defining, testing, and communicating their plans to reopen amidst uncertainty.For more information on COVID-19's impact on the consumer and retail industry, please visit our website.The author would like to thank Jelece Morris, Ansley Marks, Sam Rowland, and Yves Thill for their contributions to this article.