Covid-19

In a time of global chaos, we outline the steps businesses can take to imagine new scenarios and build future-fit strategies to turn uncertainty into action.

Behaviours : Markets

Off-price Retail Strategies

By Rhiannon McGregor and Rumi Josephs 08 : 09 : 2020 Retail : Pricing : Luxury

To counteract the surplus stock resulting from Covid-19 closures and slower spending, brands are innovating with new off-price retail strategies that add to the cachet of their brand rather than diminish it.

Off-price Retail Strategies

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Webinar: Covid-19 Future Planning

Webinar: Covid-19 Future Planning:

A 30-minute webinar examining the pandemic’s impact across key sectors, and the steps to future-proof strategies for your organisation...

 Society : Covid-19 : Retail
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An outdoor theatre for socially distanced shows:

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Social distancing tableware elevates inter-Covid dining:

Design studio Boir is releasing a conceptual tableware collection for socially distant dining.

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Stat: Private-label groceries thrive during the pandemic:

Many consumers’ shopping habits are changing as they choose private-label goods over their preferred brands.

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An anti-microbial coating to ease fears about touch

An anti-microbial coating to ease fears about touch:

Strategic agency Designsake Studio is launching Matter, an anti-microbial coating to provide protection from high-touch surfaces.

 Health : Wellness : Covid-19
ClassPass branches into at-home beauty

ClassPass branches into at-home beauty:

Flexible fitness membership platform ClassPass is expanding with on-demand beauty and wellness services.

 Beauty : At Home Wellness : Recuperative Living
Safety-first sensory shopping by StudioXAG

Safety-first sensory shopping by StudioXAG:

StudioXAG imagines a future retail experience centred around hygiene-first, immersive shopping.

 Retail : Covid-19 : Coronavirus
Transparency means business in the Covid age

Transparency means business in the Covid age:

Covid-19 brings an opportunity for brands to radicalise a generation of recycling moderates into consumers that demand transparency from...

 Packaging : Retail : Sustainability
Microsoft wants to digitise the daily commute

Microsoft wants to digitise the daily commute:

Microsoft Teams software will soon encourage workers to engage in a virtual daily commute.

 Technology : Workplace : Covid-19
Stat: Britons turn to local produce during Covid-19

Stat: Britons turn to local produce during Covid-19:

New research from Barclays finds that one quarter of Britons now suggest they buy produce in local shops and farm stores.

 Retail : Food : Drink
Inspiring social distancing with the No Douche Bag

Inspiring social distancing with the No Douche Bag:

A simple tote bag is designed to promote safer travelling on public transport.

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MasqueBAR tackles ‘maskne’ with under-mask solution:

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Good Measures uplifts pandemic wayfinding:

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Stat: Millennials prioritise home ownership amid Covid-19:

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Off-price Retail Strategies

Off-price Retail Strategies:

To counteract the surplus stock resulting from Covid-19 closures and slower spending, brands are innovating with new off-price retail...

 Retail : Pricing : Luxury
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Positive Barriers:

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Epidemic Retail Futures:

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Will Covid quell fashion’s ‘more is more’ mindset?:

With smaller brands struggling to stay afloat and larger brands left with stock but no demand, the pandemic could push fashion toward a...

 Fashion : Retail : Sustainability
Inter-Covid Fashion

Inter-Covid Fashion:

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Coca-Cola posits an optimistic new normal:

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Brazil’s communities are teaching brands a resilience lesson

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With the government failing to meet their expectations, Brazil’s informal settlements are carving their own path through Covid-19 – and...

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Stat: Pandemic-struck Generation Z move back  home

Stat: Pandemic-struck Generation Z move back  home:

In a  recent study, online real estate database company Zillow reveals how American Generation Z are saving money by moving in with...

 Money : Society : Finance
Recuperative Living

Recuperative Living:

In the aftermath of Covid-19, consumers’ collective concerns about hygiene, wellbeing and immunity will drive new directions in beauty...

 Beauty : Health : Wellness
A pandemic-proof bunker for subterranean living

A pandemic-proof bunker for subterranean living:

Sergey Makhno Architects have created Underground House Plan B, an underground concrete home envisaged as crisis-proof dwellings.

 Architecture : Covid-19 : Coronavirus
IKEA’s at-home imagination travel kits

IKEA’s at-home imagination travel kits:

Ikea UAE is encouraging customers to use the home as a form of cultural escape with its ‘vacation in a box’ concept.

 Travel And Hospitality : Retail : Covid-19
The Purgo turns hand sanitising into a sensory experience

The Purgo turns hand sanitising into a sensory experience:

Design agency Echo has created a series of conceptual designs to re-imagine hand sanitation in public places.

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Pandemic Dining Market:

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 Restaurants : Covid-19 : Food & Drink
The imperfect voices of quarantine cooking

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Inter-Covid hospitality

Inter-Covid hospitality:

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Decentralised Care

Decentralised Care:

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 Health : Covid-19 : Wellness
Squadded recreates the mall effect online

Squadded recreates the mall effect online:

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 Retail : Fashion : E-commerce
The post-Covid consumer: hedonistic or minimalist?

The post-Covid consumer: hedonistic or minimalist?:

Brands and businesses must prepare for polarised responses to the pandemic as established consumer paradigms are either accelerated or...

 Retail : Covid-19 : Coronavirus
A home-sharing revolution for a post-Covid world

A home-sharing revolution for a post-Covid world:

Martin Rosengaard, co-founder of Human Hotel, on how inner-city adventures and serendipitous home-sharing will shape post-pandemic travel.

 Travel : Hospitality : Tourism
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In lockdown, experiential retail is screwed. Or is it?

In lockdown, experiential retail is screwed. Or is it?:

With the physical world shutting down, it’s even more imperative that online retailers turn transactional web interactions into experiences.

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Re-imagining hype: post-Covid menswear mindsets

Re-imagining hype: post-Covid menswear mindsets:

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Pandemic-proof Properties

Pandemic-proof Properties:

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Urban Wellness Market

Urban Wellness Market:

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A bench for socially distant city living

A bench for socially distant city living:

Benched is a new public design intervention created by Buro Bordo and Studio 212 Fahrenheit which symbolises social distancing through a...

 Society : Health : Wellness
Virtual sanctuaries

Virtual sanctuaries:

From phygital spas to virtual hot springs, traditional wellness spaces are being rethought to combine ancient wellbeing...

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Covid-19 Contingency Planning:

Learn the immediate impacts of Covid-19 across key sectors, and discover best-in-class case studies and future considerations for your...

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What lies in store for retail post-Covid-19:

Jeff Kindleysides, founder of design studio Checkland Kindleysides, discusses Covid-19’s impact on experiential retail, brand...

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Covid-19 is reframing the meaning of luxury

Covid-19 is reframing the meaning of luxury:

With luxury reeling from Covid-19’s impact on sales, international tourism and events, four industry experts share their vision of...

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Four ways travel brands can become pandemic-proof:

With the tourism industry on pause for the foreseeable future, explore four strategies to help travel and hospitality brands survive...

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With existing systems crumbling, businesses will need to quickly recalibrate, using fear as a positive catalyst to create future-fit...

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The productivity paradox of self-isolation:

As the world adapts to life in isolation, brands operating in an accelerated capacity are spouting self-improvement and productivity –...

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Covid-19 is accelerating our working landscape

Covid-19 is accelerating our working landscape:

The fallout from Covid-19 has transformed not only how people in the UK work but where, marking a major turning point for how...

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The Covid-19 pandemic will reshape travel as we know it

The Covid-19 pandemic will reshape travel as we know it:

Travel has become meaningless. Now, the Covid-19 pandemic has granted travel brands an opportunity to contemplate – and moralise –...

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Sacrificial Advertising

Sacrificial Advertising:

With a quarter of the world’s population in lockdown, brands are sacrificing typical marketing messages for campaigns that promote...

 Advertising : Society : Covid-19
Virtual Happy Hours

Virtual Happy Hours:

Amid Covid-19 and self-isolation, digital tools combined with delivery services are reframing drinking at home as a positive,...

 Drink : Society : Retail
The digital future of Fashion Weeks

The digital future of Fashion Weeks:

The impact of Covid-19 and growing climate concerns are pushing luxury and fashion brands to technology that digitises the runway and...

 Fashion : Luxury : Retail
Generation Homebody

Generation Homebody:

Staying in is in. From TikTok bedroom dance-offs to CBD-infused bath bombs, the home has become Generation Z’s ultimate hangout.

 Youth : Fashion : Wellbeing
Covid-19: Bleach brings home the salon experience

Covid-19: Bleach brings home the salon experience:

Bleach London has launched a virtual hair salon experience to help guide isolated consumers through at-home hair maintenance.

 Beauty : Covid-19 : Retail
Stat: Lockdown boosts live-stream retail in China

Stat: Lockdown boosts live-stream retail in China:

According to research by Taobao Live, Alibaba Group’s dedicated live-streaming channel has continued to grow during the Covid-19 pandemic.

 Covid-19 : Coronavirus : Retail
Home Eatertainment

Home Eatertainment:

Changing dining dynamics have created a new convenience culture focused on elevating the experience and enjoyment of eating and drinking...

 Food : Convivial : Convenience
Covid-19: Haus creates bespoke aperitifs to support restaurants

Covid-19: Haus creates bespoke aperitifs to support restaurants:

The direct-to-consumer brand of aperitifs has collaborated with nine US restaurants to create a range of bespoke blends.

 Food : Drink : New York
Covid-19: JD.com takes clubbing online for self-isolators

Covid-19: JD.com takes clubbing online for self-isolators:

JD.com is creating an online clubbing experience in collaboration with major alcohol brands.

 Technology : Music : Alcohol
Resilience Culture

Resilience Culture:

We have been living in an age of self-censorship, hyper-safe spaces and social comfort zones. But as global anxieties abound, a...

 Wellness : Health : Travel
Covid-19: A sterilisation lamp designed for the home

Covid-19: A sterilisation lamp designed for the home:

Frank Chou hopes the lamp will fight the spread of bacteria on everyday items such as phones, keys and wallets.

 Design : Health : Wellness
Club Quarantäne is a virtual sanctuary for isolated clubbers

Club Quarantäne is a virtual sanctuary for isolated clubbers:

Club Quarantäne is a live-streamed virtual club delivered by Invisible Hand on Resident Advisor.

 Media : Online : Online Shopping
Reimagining public transport for the inter-Covid era

Reimagining public transport for the inter-Covid era:

Bus operator Arrival has unveiled a zero-emissions bus designed to make public transport more sustainable, while prioritising public health.

 Mobility : Covid-19 : Coronavirus
Covid-19: Snapchat filters for safe social distancing

Covid-19: Snapchat filters for safe social distancing:

Snapchat has released a new augmented reality (AR) lens to help people remain at a safe, two-metre distance from others during the...

 Media : Technology : Digital
Covid-19: Bottega Veneta’s hopeful virtual residency

Covid-19: Bottega Veneta’s hopeful virtual residency:

Bottega Veneta has launched a virtual residency featuring different creatives from a range of disciplines, aiming to provide comfort and...

 Luxury : Technology : Customer Experience
Stat: US citizens are optimistic about travel in 2020

Stat: US citizens are optimistic about travel in 2020:

A new survey by LuggageHero has shown that more than 75% of Americans still intend to travel in 2020.

 Travel : Hospitality : Tourism
Covid-19: Carlo Ratti creates ICUs from shipping containers

Covid-19: Carlo Ratti creates ICUs from shipping containers:

Carlo Ratti Associati has designed an intensive care pod in a shipping container that could be added to hospitals fighting the...

 Covid-19 : Coronavirus : Intensive Care
Covid-19: Quarantine Together is a more focused approach to dating

Covid-19: Quarantine Together is a more focused approach to dating:

The dating app requests that users log on at 6:00pm daily to be matched with potential dates.

 Mobile Dating : Dating App : Covid-19
Stat: US lockdown prompts new superfood favourites

Stat: US lockdown prompts new superfood favourites:

According to research by food tech firm Chicory, US citizens are increasingly interested in superfood ingredients as they navigate a new...

 Superfood : Food : Natural Ingredients
Covid-19: Shift’s market for safe social distance

Covid-19: Shift’s market for safe social distance:

Shift Architecture Urbanism has developed a model for a street food market that allows people to buy fresh produce while remaining...

 Food & Drink : Architecture : Augmented Reality
Covid-19: A soap for 20-second hand-washing

Covid-19: A soap for 20-second hand-washing:

Creative agency Verve has created an innovative soap product to develop positive habits around hand-washing.

 Covid-19 : Health : Campaign
Covid-19: Short-term rentals could save Japan’s marriages

Covid-19: Short-term rentals could save Japan’s marriages:

Rental company Kasoku is supporting couples during lockdown by providing short-term rentals as a place of respite.

 Society : Health And Wellness : Rental Market
Stat: Britons have an appetite for change after Covid-19

Stat: Britons have an appetite for change after Covid-19:

A study by YouGov has revealed that only 9% of Britons want life to return to normal after the lockdown is lifted.

 Covid-19 : Society : Resilience
Covid-19: Wheel of Foreplay prompts isolated intimacy

Covid-19: Wheel of Foreplay prompts isolated intimacy:

The online ‘spin the wheel’ game allows individuals, couples and distanced partners to remain intimate during the coronavirus lockdown.

 Health : Technology : Society
Covid-19: A virus-proof suit for post-pandemic partying

Covid-19: A virus-proof suit for post-pandemic partying:

Production Club has designed a virus-proof, half-body suit concept to allow socialising without distancing.

Covid-19 : Coronavirus : Fashion
A portable sanitation kit for public hygiene

A portable sanitation kit for public hygiene:

Designer Kiran Zhu has created a cleanliness package to improve public health habits following the pandemic.

 Health & Wellness : Beauty : Covid-19
Covid-19: Office spaces for socially distant employees

Covid-19: Office spaces for socially distant employees:

Cushman & Wakefield has designed a conceptual new office space to help its clients prepare for employees to return to work post-lockdown.

 Covid-19 : Coronavirus : Workspace

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