There are those rare times in history when a confluence of events results in something very new and very exciting—this year is one of those years. Now, I know what everyone is thinking—2020 has been anything but stellar. Between socio-political strife and a global pandemic, one would think that this year has been downright horrible. However, the events of this year have resulted in a few positive things: new habits paired with new technologies that will be around long after the dark specter of COVID is behind us. COVID has been an influence on all aspects of society this year. The first positive impact was that it brought so many people together—socially distanced, of course. What I mean by that is people in general have been very much dedicated to supporting local businesses and, in turn, local businesses have been dedicated to further supporting their customers. That evidence is front and center: free business consultation sessions are being offered to help businesses succeed in these trying times. The general sentiment is that businesses and customers have been mutually building stronger bonds in the wake of the pandemic. To me, that is a huge plus for humanity. Second, the concepts of digital transformation have been vastly accelerated. Projects that were being planned for 2021 and beyond, were suddenly pushed to the front of the line to be implemented almost immediately. These projects included everything from contactless shopping tools, newly introduced platforms built for better personalized engagement, to new apps—all things that have propelled our world forward like no other time in history. So where are we to date? In just a few short months, our entire landscape has turned from dreams of enhanced digital experiences, to a firm and ever-expanding reality. And yes, there are still many that are trying to catch up, but the tide has turned to the new age of personalization through automation. What does that mean? Here’s my explanation. As previously mentioned, the confluence of people caring for people paired with accelerated technology, has led all businesses—restaurants, grocers, retailers, and more—to embrace the idea of knowing their customers on a far more personalized level. Of course, with that has come tools and platforms that enable business to foster relationships through automation and data—using digital means to connect regardless of channel. As people shop from home, order from home, and then transfer to in-location, the seamless nature of all these channels is being addressed, and the barriers that were once there are being torn down. In-app, online, or in-store now becomes one experience, all with highly personalized attention to detail based on every individual. Businesses know who their individual customers are as they browse eCommerce-related sites, they extend that through their mobile apps by presenting custom offers and incentives, then use that same mobile app to foster contactless shopping through functions like scan-and-pay, scan-and-learn, and so much more. This then leads to easily implemented social distancing while still being able to interact in-person or digitally—it really doesn’t matter. Most importantly, this is the new normal. COVID be damned, it too shall pass. But being able to use its influence to create better and more positive customer relationships is something that will last forever as the great win for 2020 and beyond.