Overcoming COVID-19 Challenges

In this time of great crisis, new challenges are constantly emerging. But these challenges are not just new to us, they are unprecedented. There are no playbooks for most of them. No case studies, no proven strategies for success.

We simply must work together to find new solutions.

To help discover new ideas and identify potential solutions, we will create, curate and publish to this page any resources that we think could be helpful to us all as we face these enormous challenges. Bookmark this page and be sure to check back often, as we will update this page anytime we create new content or when relevant and reliable material from other sources becomes available.

Advice, ideas and opinions on retail’s response to the COVID-19 crisis from around the world of retail.

Links from May:

• Best Buy May End Coronavirus Pandemic as a ‘Winner in Retail’
  How the retailer is gaining share and benefiting from more telecommuting and online shopping | Barron’s May 18 2020
• The biggest US mall owner plans to have 50% of its centers reopened this week
  Simon’s plans to open approximately 100 malls as states loosen restrictions | CNBC May 11, 2020
• Exclusive: Primark prepares to reopen stores
  Primark’s plans to re-open stores across the UK once restrictions begin to ease | Drapers May 7, 2020
• Ulta Beauty Is Now Offering Curbside Pickup at More Than 350 Stores
  How the beauty retailer launched BOPAC at over 350 stores during the pandemic | Allure  May 7, 2020
• Mall owner Brookfield will spend $5 billion to save retailers
  Property and mall owner Brookfield Asset Management’s plan to help struggling retail tenants | CNBC  May 7, 2020
• Lululemon opens Hong Kong flagship
  A new flagship opens amidst the pandemic, including launch of new Wunder Under leggings | Retail in Asia  May 07, 2020
• Fashion’s digital transformation: Now or never
  McKinsey’s perspective and advice on fashion retail’s way forward | McKinsey May 6, 2020
• 3 Digital Trends That Will Stick in the New Post-Pandemic Retail Landscape
  Aptos’ Nikki Baird’s perspective on new shopping and selling behaviors that will outlast the pandemic | RIS News May 6, 2020
• Gap plans to reopen 800 stores by the end of May
  Gaps aggressive but cautious re-opening plans |  CNBC  May 06, 2020
• Nike is donating $5.5 million worth of products including sneakers, socks, and T-shirts to healthcare workers in the US and Europe
  Nike continues to help those on the front lines with products that help them get through these extremely long days  |  Business Insider   May 5, 2020
• Bobok ’til you drop: South Koreans roar back to malls as coronavirus curbs ease
  A look at how shoppers in South Korea are returning to the stores…and the beaches  |  The Edge Markets  May 04, 2020

Links from April:

• Post-Coronavirus Retail: What Shopping Will Look Like As Stores Begin Reopening
  Walter Loeb’s take on how retail will be potentially forever changed by COVID-19 | Forbes  April 30
• Macy’s prepares to unlock the doors
  Macy’s re-opening plans, beginning with 68 stores across the South | The Real Deal  April 30, 2020
• Best Buy will open 200 stores to customers who make an appointment. Here’s how it’ll work.
  Best Buy’s re-opening plan calls for in-store consultations as phase one | Business Insider April 29, 2020
• Almost Half of Retailers Offering Curbside and In-Store BOPIS, RIS Survey Finds
  An analysis of shipping and store fulfillment trends since the crisis began | RIS News  April 27,2020
• Open for Business – A Blueprint for Shopping Safe
  NRF and RILA published guidelines for a phased-in approach to re-opening stores | April 27, 2020 NRF and RILA
• Rapid Evolution: Three Ways The Pandemic Will Revolutionize Retail
  Jon Bird’s take on the rise of online grocery shopping, the demise of the store and the advent of more mindful consumption | Forbes April 27, 2020
• How Is COVID-19 Changing E-commerce and Retail Businesses?
  An interesting look at categorizing consumer behaviors and how they will impact retail | April 27, 2020 AIthority
• ‘Revenge spending’ fuels luxury goods rebound
  As consumers emerge from isolation in South Korea, luxury retail Is experiencing a significant rebound | April 24, 20202 Inside Retail Asia
• Bed Bath & Beyond converts 25% of its stores into regional fulfillment centers
  How Bed, Bath & Beyond is adapting to 85% growth in their online channels | April 24, 2020  Chain Store Age
• COVID-19 Accelerates Change Already Afoot In Retail
  Steven Bird’s take on the emerging opportunities for brand-building | April 23, 2020  Forbes
• 3 Brands Using Content To Build Connections & Communities During COVID-19
  Alicia Esposito discusses the near-term and long-term value of investing in digital engagement now | Retail TouchPoints  April 23, 2020
• German stores re-open in first step to ease coronavirus restrictions
  Insights into how, when and what types of stores are beginning to reopen across Germany | Deutsche Welle (DW)  April 20, 2020
• Texas retailers can gear up for curbside pickup next week
  Curbside pickup, delivery and store pickup orders begin rolling out in Texas | Dallas Morning News April 17, 2020
• Can Consumer Insights From 2019 Holiday Season Help Retailers Prepare for COVID-19 Recovery?
  How insights from 4,000 US/UK shoppers surveyed in Q4 2019 can help us prepare for life post-COVID-19 | Total Retail  April 16,2020
• What retail could look like when stores reopen
  Insights from eight industry experts on the near future of the store experience | Retail Dive  April 15, 2020
• Grocery Retailers Adding Online Waiting Rooms
  How apps like Open Table are helping enforce social distancing  in shops | Winsight Grocery Business  April 14, 2020
• An Hermès Boutique in China Made $2.7 Million in One Day After It Reopened
  A look at a blockbuster day for the brand’s Guangzhou flagship store | Rob Report  April 13, 2020
• Omnichannel: The Savior Of Non-Essential Retail
  Nikki Baird discusses the expanding importance of omnichannel commerce on the present – and future – of retail | Forbes  April 13, 2020
• COVID-19: The ultimate stress test for retailers
  Gartner on minimizing business impacts by executing on controllable activities | Retail Dive  April 9, 2020
• The consumer after COVID-19
  Analysis of how shopping behaviors might change post-pandemic | Retail Dive April 8, 2020
• ‘Like walking the tightrope’: Some European countries are starting to lift coronavirus lockdown measures
  Updates on European countries beginning to re-open their economies | CNBC  April 8, 2020
• China’s consumers are starting to binge on travel, cosmetics again in signs economy is reviving
  Early shopping behavior patterns from China as their economy begins to open | South China Morning Post  April 8, 2020
• COVID-19 Retailing: How Contactless Operations Can Keep Shoppers And Workers Safer
  Nikki Baird and others share perspectives on Contactless Commerce | Retail Touchpoints  April 2, 2020
• Lululemon CEO: Some retailers will be able to ‘weather’ coronavirus pandemic. Others won’t.
  Calvin McDonald’s perspective ion the crisis…and the recovery | CNBC April 2, 2020
• A running list of brands giving back during the coronavirus pandemic
  Good news about brands doing good | Insider, Updated April 1, 2020

Links from March:

• Massachusetts based New Balance developing, manufacturing face masks for hospitals
  New Balance helping address demand for supplies  | WCVB5 March 30, 2020
• The apparel industry had an inventory problem before coronavirus. What now?
  Emerging inventory crisis-management trends | Retail Dive, March 26, 2020
• How retailers can find success on Pinterest
  Detailed guidance for selling through Pinterest | Pinterest, March 26, 2020
• Marketing in the Age of Coronavirus: The Dos and (Many) Don’ts
  Tips and advice for retail marketing campaigns during the crisis | WWD  March 24, 2020
• A Time to Shine
  Retailers impacting their community in the face of the crisis | Retail Systems Research, March 24, 2020
• Betabrand Offers Group Therapy For WFH Shoppers
  Bringing customers together for live commerce and conversation | Betabrand (from their newsletter), March 24, 2020
• Store Closings: Retailers Shutting Doors & Modifying Hours to Combat Coronavirus
  Staying relevant and connected to your customers, even as stores are closing | RIS News, March 20, 2020

Other helpful links:

• 5 Examples of Thriving Online Brand Communities (And How to Build Yours)
  Best practices for retailers looking to expand online content during the crisis | PostFunnel  September 14, 2019