It's time to abandon the old, broken systems. The future will not look like the past of 6 months ago, let alone 10 years ago. There's no sense fighting for a return through artificial means.

Wayne Gretzky, the hockey legend, said "I skate to where the puck is going to be, not to where it has been." This is the mentality all businesses should be taking as well.

The future of commerce is digital. Local commerce is fragile. These roles have reversed over the last 20 years and it's come to a breaking point. The pandemic has pushed the timelineand made the changes more abrupt. The pandemic and surrounding policies are instigators, not the sole reason for the problems facing local businesses.

There's a choice facing many businesses. We can fight for an old way of doing business, blame the events, point fingers at others, and continue spending time and money getting back to a methods that were already crumbling.

Or we can move forward by embracing change, acknowledging the landscape, looking ahead, and harnessing technology. The latter certainly looks like a better use of resources.