If you watch the market closely, you can get an idea of which industries will quickly recover from the pandemic slowdown.
Speak to some futurists about their predictions for the post-pandemic economy, and you get vastly different views: Some believe in a boom in the fashion industry, as in the 1920s, and others predict a world with less global networking –and a trend toward local and regional. Still others assume that humanity will become more flexible and adapt quickly to any changes in external circumstances.
Human flexibility and creativity has been seen frequently in the past year: not only people, but also brands have adapted to the “new normal.” Brands developed new ways of interacting with their customers (e.g. digitally) and they also quickly introduced new products. For example, the global fitness fashion brand lululemon brought “The Mirror” into their product line - a mirror that broadcasts live workouts into the home. This product would not have found a market had gyms remained open.
The prognosis that the fashion and cosmetics industries will recover quickly is already proving true. In the USA the beauty chain Ulta opened 40 new stores and the mid-priced apparel chain Gap recently announced they are bullish that apparel sales will recover quickly as people return soon to their offices and schools.
Mindful luxury
People who were not adversely-impacted financially by the crisis were able to bank money because there were reduced opportunities for shopping and travel. Consumers want to treat themselves to what they were denied as soon as possible, such as day trips to wellness spas or weekends away. In addition, the trend towards local luxury shopping can be seen in Asia: Since duty free shopping was not possible during the pandemic, when the Hermes store in Guandong reopened it rang up 2.7 million dollars in revenue that first day.
Upgraded living space and new insurance policies
People who are still working from home and spending more time in their own four walls will continue to invest in high-quality furnishings, decor and expensive technology to make their day as pleasant as possible. In addition, many people grappled with the need for insurance and investments during the pandemic, leading to an increase in life insurance sales driving the overall recovery of the insurance industry.
Create positive experiences
Regardless of the industry, after the crisis it is more important than ever for retailers to create beautiful and positive in-store experiences. If they cannot, customers will not return to physical stores, as we already learned in the prior blog post The Secret of Outstanding Customer Experience.
Many visionary companies used the lockdown to ask customers about their post-crisis wishes and expectations in order to prepare their brick-and-mortar stores and services accordingly. Now that physical stores are re-opening, a CX program ensures that brand and service standards are followed creating positive experiences and satisfied customers who will be delighted to return.
