Eduardo Rocha de Oliveira, Graziela Oste Graziano Cremonezi, Jacir Leonir Casagrande and Alvaro José de Souto
This study aims to understand the changes and perceptions of retailers related to marketing strategies in innovation in the empirical reality of retail, during the measures of restriction and social and commercial distancing caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a qualitative content analysis study, carried out through interviews. The objects of study of the investigation were companies operating in retail in the city of Criciúma (SC). The results indicate that the main change in retail companies was the growing use of digital media, including websites, Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp. The lack of understanding of the theory of innovation in marketing was present in the testimonies of the interviewees. Thus, it is observed that innovation in marketing is something new and still needs to be explored in economic sectors. The testimonies showed that the innovation stems from the marketing need and responsibility of store owners for monitoring the progress of activities, with no sharing of ideas and decisions between the different areas to facilitate decision-making. The and studo contributed to expand the understanding of the marketing strategies of innovation in empirical reality of retailers and how this impacted directly on their business.