Covid-19

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SONAE SIERRA + DOTT

RETAIL | PORTUGAL | CHANNEL INNOVATION

Sonae Sierra has developed a free access solution that allows for its tenants, in shopping centres under management, to safekeep their revenue streams in face of physical store closures and/or without a previous establishment of digital sales channels.

In partnership with Dott, the firm set up, on the 27th of March, a platform that enables tenants to sell online, which until the 31st of May is exempt of any fees over conducted transactions.

Furthermore, this collaboration with Dott, a cross-category e-marketplace, has also aided these players in implementing digital product catalogues as well as in configuring their payment and invoice processes. Beyond this, Dott also ensured the management and home-delivery function of consumer purchases in compliance with imposed health safety measures. The access to these online stores can be done through each participating shopping centre’s website.

In the Portuguese market there are 20 centres already undertaking this initiative, and Sierra is also exploring similar alternatives to replicate this Online Shopping Centre model in other countries where it operates.

The valuation, so far, has been exceedingly positive. Over half of all contacted tenants immediately jumped on board and the few, circa 20%, tenants that decided not to go ahead indicated that the decision has purely due to temporary setbacks (lay-off senarios, lack of stock, …). Feedback has also been likewise encouraging, with some of these new brands entering the Dott ecosystem setting themselves apart as top performers in the marketplace.

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SONAE SIERRA

RETAIL | PORTUGAL | CHANNEL INNOVATION

With the motto “Welcome to a new normal” Sonae Sierra has been releasing a series of initiatives designed for the current re-opening the economy stage.

The Drive-in service, launched in the 8th of May for 19 of the shopping centres owned and/or managed by the firm in Portugal, provides its clients with the option for collecting their purchases, acquired during a physical visit or remotely ordered via a tenant’s virtual store, e-mail or by phone, through a designated location(s) for drive-thru in each centres parking area.

On the one hand, this service adds a convenient and safe alternative to the traditional mall shopping process and, on the other hand, it helps in reducing traffic levels within shopping centres to ensure compliance with the health-safety requirements set by the Portuguese Government to deal with the pandemic.

Already there are 89 brands and 161 stores available for this Drive-In option, a number that will continue growing throughout the next few weeks. Moreover, Sonae Sierra is also considering the expansion of the service to centres it owns and/or manages in other geographies, specifically in Germany, Italy and Spain.

For further information, you can visit the website of each centre offering this service in Portugal. e.g. https://www.colombo.pt/

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SONAE SIERRA

RETAIL | PORTUGAL | PRODUCT INNOVATION

Traffic counter is a new service launched by Sonae Sierra, for their shopping centres under management, to inform potential visitors of traffic levels inside the centre and in its parking areas .

Developed in just a few days, the solution is simple and user friendly: by establishing a link with the footfall system, already existent in each shopping centre, a qualitative information is broadcasted through the centres' website rating both the shopping centre and parking traffic in three levels:

• Green: Welcome
• Yellow: Some restrictions may apply
• Red: Please visit later

Additionally, Sonae Sierra is also in the process of integrating this information in each shopping centre’ app and displaying it through a chatbot system in centres where the solution is available.

The service is already live in Portuguese regions where shopping centres have been granted permission to extend the number of open stores, as is the case for Madeira Shopping and Parque Atlântico, and will soon be deployed, on the 1st of June, in other centres under management as well. Sonae Sierra is also preparing to launch the service abroad, with Italy being, most likely, the next country to offer Traffic Counter.

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SONAE SIERRA

RETAIL | PORTUGAL | CHANNEL INNOVATION

Sonae Sierra has recently provided free access, for tenants and visitors in Portuguese centres under management, to a virtual queue ticket solution that allows consumers to withdraw a ticket in a selected store and safely await their turn without needing to queue up in the storefront.

The system, entitled NaFila, is part of the project pool put forward by #Tech4Covid19, a technological community tackling the pandemic (already explored in this newsletter’s 1st edition), and was designed for all client segments, without the need to install a specific app or register a user’s account.

For retailers, beyond the initial registration process one has only to turn on the queue system for their store, display the generated store code in a visible location (e.g. shop window) and call out the numbers using, for instance, www.Nafila.pt website. As for a client, they can either text the store with the respective code or, without a mobile, request store staff to provide him with the virtual ticket. The client will then be notified (by SMS or by the store staff depending on the ticket generation channel) three numbers before his turn.

The project NaFila, was first implemented as a pilot in CascaiShopping for two brands in dire need of this type of solution and is now being continuously improved by Sonae Sierra and the start-up community in order to release a set of “quality-of-live” improvements. With these fine-tunings the firm also expects to roll-out the solution in other Portuguese shopping centres under management and is analysing a possible expansion to other geographies.

SONAE SIERRA

RETAIL | PORTUGAL | ITALY | SPAIN | ROMANIA | PRODUCT INNOVATION

Due to the increasing need of sanitization in infrastructures and equipment, Sonae Sierra, in partnership with Schindler, has implemented an innovative solution for disinfecting escalators in shopping centres under the firms management.

The pioneer geographies were Portugal and Italy, in shopping centres such as Colombo and NorteShopping (in Lisbon and Porto respectively) and in Le Terrazze, located in La Spezia in the north of Italy.

The first installations occurred during April and Sonae Sierra has since been rapidly rolling out this solution to other managed centres in locations across Portugal, Spain, Italy and Romania.

Certified by Schindler, this solution consists in the installation of devices that utilize germicide UVC light to irradiate escalators rails in a short distance. Exposure to this UVC light damages substantially DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) and RNA (ribonucleic acid), two key genetic components for spreading bacteria and viruses, thus mitigating dissemination in these spaces.

Due to this physical disinfection process, using LED UVC lights, the rails are thus sanitized in an, not only, efficient but also ecological manner. These devices are set-up inside the escalator or in its deck component in order to ensure total safety of passengers.

SONAE SIERRA

RETAIL | PORTUGAL | COMMUNICATION

Acknowledging a more anxious and apprehensive consumer, Sonae Sierra has decided to completely reformulate its communication program, not only in terms of content but also in regard to tone, format and intensity.

With a more cheerful and informal, yet assertive and confident, approach the centres managed by the firm have launched a campaign, that presents and promotes the new health safety measures that were implemented in these spaces, in order to generate awareness in consumers that ought to put in practise new health safety behaviours.

This campaign is materialized in both digital (website, Facebook, Instagram) as well as physical (Mupis) channels where, also, new decals and signals were designed from scratch and installed for addressing the pandemic.

Additionally, beyond this pandemic crisis the firm has also been tackling the subsequent economic impacts by providing new services and innovative solutions for tenants and final clients, with digital taking a meaningful presence, here showcased in this 9th edition of Sierra Business Insights

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SONAE SIERRA

RETAIL | CULTURE | ITALY | STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS

Le Terraze Shopping Centres, one of the shopping centres managed by Sonae Sierra in Italy, has established a partnership with Amedeo Lia Civic Museum of La Spezia, combining technology and culture as a way to entertain, educate and improve the confidence and community pride of local population.

The initiative, “Un’opera al giorno”, consists in the daily publication of an art piece from the museum’s collection, with the curation process managed by the museum’s director Andrea Marmori. With the support of Le Terazze the museum is thus able to keep “its doors open” on a new virtual stage during the lockdown period.

By aligning the content posted on the Facebook profiles of Le Terazze and Amedeo Lia Civic Museum, this program was designed so that the published information, details and curiosities of each art piece flows in a frequent manner, creating several moments of daily entertainment and interaction with fans, which are also consistently challenged to create additional contents inspired by these art works (drawings, paintings, photography, …). Additionally, the initiative also features an interactive game in which users are invited to fill out a puzzle of one of the featured works by finding the missing piece.

The shopping centre, Le Terazze, also holds an informal contest to award the most creative publications of its fans with free passages to the museum once it can re-open to the public.

For more information, visit www.facebook.com/centrocommercialeleterrazze

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SONAE SIERRA

RETAIL | GLOBAL | KNOWLEDGE SHARING

The SBI initiative (Sierra Business Insights), created in the context of Keep Your Business Safe, Stay Online With Us program and materialized as a weekly newsletter, has in its core the aim to support partners, tenants and other stakeholders from different activity backgrounds with insights that, in light of the current context, could challenge their businesses, in an innovate, agile, simple and low-cost fashion, by providing examples from several geographies.

To this end, we’ve published 9 editions addressing a broad range of themes, such as retail, channel, offer and product innovation, new business models and new consumer experiences. Each one was translated and shared with teams and partners in several location where Sonae Sierra operates. In Portuguese, for Portugal and Brazil, in Spanish, for Spain and Colombia, in Italian for Italy, in French for Morocco, and in English, for Romania and Poland.

More than a static picture of the impact of COVID-19 in key categories (F&B, Groceries, Electronics & Culture, Fashion, H&B, Leisure, …) this temporary “observatory” has allowed us to closely follow the major transformations of these sectors in different response stages. From the initiatives, mainly digital, that surfaced in a mass confinement reality to the relevant recreations and new physical experience concepts resultant from a return, albeit carefully threaded, to a new normality.

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SONAE SIERRA

RETAIL | PORTUGAL | PRODUCT INNOVATION

Traffic counter is a new service launched by Sonae Sierra, for their shopping centres under management, to inform potential visitors of traffic levels inside the centre and in its parking areas .

Developed in just a few days, the solution is simple and user friendly: by establishing a link with the footfall system, already existent in each shopping centre, a qualitative information is broadcasted through the centres' website rating both the shopping centre and parking traffic in three levels:

• Green: Welcome
• Yellow: Some restrictions may apply
• Red: Please visit later

Additionally, Sonae Sierra is also in the process of integrating this information in each shopping centre’ app and displaying it through a chatbot system in centres where the solution is available.

The service is already live in Portuguese regions where shopping centres have been granted permission to extend the number of open stores, as is the case for Madeira Shopping, and will soon be deployed in other centres under management as well. Sonae Sierra is also preparing to launch the service abroad, with Italy being, most likely, the next country to offer Traffic Counter.

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SOFTFINANÇA & ADBP

RETAIL | PORTUGAL | STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS

The association in charge of mobilizing and promoting commercial activities in the Lisbon’s Baixa area (ADBP) has challenged Softfinança, a portuguese “software house”, to develop a project that enables the digital transformation of several businesses and retailers in the area in order to mitigate the impact of barriers placed on the physical commerce.

The platform “Baixa Chiado Online a Partir de Casa” (Baixa Chiado Online from Home) was thus created as cost-effective solution that can easily and swiftly be implemented without the need for technical expertise. A solution that aims at creating new digital sales channels for its clients (and their integration in a single accessible marketplace) as well as enabling their omnichannel functions.

Baixa Chiado Online a Partir de Casa was developed using a Jumpseller environment to allow autonomy in the future management of contents. Softfinança led the onboarding of over 50 retailers and other businesses, in a broad range of categories (from common food retail goods to tourism and hotel services) ensuring the APIs (integrations) that may be further necessary to enable other payment, delivery and tracking functionalities.

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ADEGGA

F&B | PORTUGAL | OFFER INNOVATION

Created in the beginning of this pandemic crisis to mitigate the impact of restaurants and wine store closures, the Adegga Maketplace already has over 1000 wines available from over 100 small and large Portuguese producers and stores, ensuring a diverse offer from all regions and providing an opportunity for small scale producers to have their wines competing with the largest players in the sector.

Recently the online platform announced a new private Sommelier service catering for consumers that wish for a tailored and assisted digital buying process.

Available through Adegga’s e-mail, website chat function or through a phone call (available from 18h to 20h) this service will allow the platforms users to contact Gonçalo Patraquim, an official sommelier of Lisbon Wine Week, that will aid them not only in the selection and recommendation of products but also in answering questions and doubts related to wine culture and consumption.

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SOGRAPE

F&B | PORTUGAL | OFFER INNOVATION

Sogrape, a portuguese wine production and export group, has launched a platform to support the hospitality sector in its return to physical commerce activities. This being one of the sectors most impacted by the pandemic, businesses will have to swiftly adapt their operations to the social distancing and health safety requirements placed on their locations.

Developed internally, the platform aCarta will be freely available for all restaurants and bars in Portugal to create digital menus as a way to limit physical contact, avoiding the circulation of the usual menus amongst clients.

To subscribe to this digital menu service, users have to access and register themselves in the website to create a profile for their establishment or business chain. A QR code, that is generated automatically in the profile creation process, can be easily printed and displayed on tables and other spaces so that clients can access the menus using their phones.

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REVELLERS HALL

F&B | US | PRODUCT INNOVATION

In Bishop Arts, Dallas, US, one of the solutions that bars and restaurants in the area are exploring to mitigate the impact of social distancing restrictions on occupancy levels is the repurposing of public parking spaces into new spaces where they can serve their customers.

The initiative first proposed by the local bar, Revellers Hall, was designed to ensure the sustainability of its business in light of these restrictions, which would reduce their maximum capacity to 25% and imply furloughs to keep the space afloat. With the project already given a green light by the public authorities, the model is now being replicated by several businesses in the area.

Not withstanding the fact that this is not an innovative concept per se, arising in a 2010 urban planning project in San Francisco (US), parklets, or the temporary extensions of leisure and business areas, has been one of the most relevant solutions considered across several geographies for a “return to normality” of the hospitality sector after the lockdown stage.

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LIDL

GROCERIES | IRLAND | PRODUCT INNOVATION

In Irland, Lidl launched a pilot project to help its customers in selecting quiet hours to do their physical shopping.

This new solution, the first of its kind for the retailer, allows users to send a Whatsapp message to Lild’s chatbot tool with the desired day and timeslot in order to gauge, based on real time data and transactional volume, the traffic level within the supermarket at that moment.

With the ambition to scale this prototype to other locations, this is one of the initiatives that the group has been implementing in its pandemic and social distancing operations, whilst also being an innovative solution to mitigate the pressure of demand in supply chains and delivery models.

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L’ORÉAL

H&B | TECH | SPAIN | CONSUMER EXPERIENCE

With the reopening of several markets in Europe and China, L’Oréal’s luxury division, in collaboration with its retail partners and beauty assistants, has been drawing the future of consumer experience, with personalized and safety-driven services and using AI-based technology to build closer relations between the group and its brands with consumers, both in physical and digital channels.

Over the last few weeks of confinement, the group has developed several new virtual experiences that will remain in the future. Amongst them, we highlight beauty specialists interacting with consumers through streaming and chat functions, personalized or group sessions masterclasses, exclusive Snapchat lenses, …

Nevertheless, with the return of physical points-of-sale, and given the relevant growth of e-commerce sales during this period, L’Oréal will progressively scale up their beauty tech to meet new consumer behaviours. For instance with the roll-out of Modiface, a system that enables (in a more advanced manner) consumers to test different make-up products through their smartphones, or with the introduction of Nexa, a beauty consultation tool that provides an accurate diagnosis of skin types and prescribes tailored treatment.

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STAY2SCORE

LEISURE & CONTENTS | EUROPE | OFFER INNOVATION

With the closure of sports competitions during the pandemic we have witnessed a steep rise in professional leagues setting up gaming and eSports contents to fill this gap.

At a time where football competitions are ready to re-start behind closed doors and fans are encouraged to watch the matches from home, the Association of European Professional Football League announced, in the beginning of May, the launch of a new online competition format, Stay2Score.

This format will gather players from 8 top European leagues to play a FIFA 20 competition (using the game’s developer, EA Sports, feature that allows users to participate in online matches with different teams) with all the matches being broadcasted in social networks as well as in other digital channels of participating leagues, in their respective countries.

Each league will, thus, be represented by 4 players: 2 professional footballers and/or football-related celebrities and 2 local FIFA gaming professionals. The final is set to happen on the 23d of May.

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SONAE SIERRA

RETAIL | PORTUGAL | CHANNEL INNOVATION

With the motto “Welcome to a new normal” Sonae Sierra has been releasing a series of initiatives designed for the current re-opening the economy stage.

The Drive-in service, launched in the 8th of May for 19 of the shopping centres owned and/or managed by the firm in Portugal, provides its clients with the option for collecting their purchases, acquired during a physical visit or remotely ordered via a tenant’s virtual store, e-mail or by phone, through a designated location(s) for drive-thru in each centres parking area.

On the one hand, this service adds a convenient and safe alternative to the traditional mall shopping process and, on the other hand, it helps in reducing traffic levels within shopping centres to ensure compliance with the health-safety requirements set by the Portuguese Government to deal with the pandemic.

Already there are 66 brands and 123 stores available for this Drive-In option, a number that will continue growing throughout the next few weeks. Moreover, Sonae Sierra is also considering the expansion of the service to centres it owns and/or manages in other geographies, specifically in Germany, Italy and Spain.

For further information, you can visit the website of each centre offering this service in Portugal. e.g. https://www.colombo.pt/

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CGI

RETAIL| TECH | PORTUGAL | OFFER INNOVATION

CGI, a global firm in technological and information systems consulting, has recently announced the launch of a new project, in Portugal, that aims at providing brands, conditioned by the physical restrictions, a virtual space for creating events.

This online events pavilion, Virtualarena.pt, thus allows brands and other entities to digitally interact with their consumers, internal resources and partners and provide unique experiences in a highly customizable space, both in terms of interior decoration as well as its “naming”. Additionally, each client will also have the option of establishing O2O (Online-to-Offline) concepts with the complementary services offered, namely catering and gift door-to-door deliveries.

Virtual reality, customizable 3D interfaces, multi-streaming in real time, on demand streaming, motion graphics and studio or remote recording are some of the functionalities of this new offer, in what seemingly constitutes a leap forward in the future of this industry, brought to the present to meet the current pitfalls of the sector.

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KITCH

F&B | PORTUGAL | HOME-DELIVERY MODELS

In spite of the growing popularity of food delivery platforms, boosted during the confinement period and surely to be strengthened during the “return to normality”, there are still popular restaurants that have not developed offers for this channel and others that, although already present, are unable to provide an experience that meets the quality standards experienced in their physical spaces.

This is where Kitch comes in, not as a logistic player to ensure delivery functions but as an aggregator of concepts for catering solely to at-home consumption. Kitch, a newly formed start-up developed by Rui Bento and Nuno Rodrigues who brought Uber to Portugal, is therefore an ecosystem of virtual kitchens spread throughout Lisbon that gathers a collection of restaurants designing offers, from the ingredient to the box, exclusively for the experience of ordering and eating at home.

Within their structures we find popular dining concepts in the Lisbon area, such as GoJuu, Pistola y Corazón, UMIKAI, Marlene Vieira, Cervejaria Musa, … with deliveries being ensures by the usual suspects, UberEats and Glovo.

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THE MEDIAMATIC

F&B | NETHERLANDS | PRODUCT INNOVATION

With the release of the official dates for resuming activities within restaurant spaces, in the Netherlands set for the 23d of May, the vegan restaurant The Mediamatic in Amsterdan has designed a creative and, to some extent, romantic solution of how they can better serve their customers in light of the social distancing measures that will govern physical consumption experiences for the foreseeable future.

The restaurant as, thus, been seizing this last month of inactivity to conduct tests on the installations of private capsules in its outdoor seafront area, with the capacity to serve up to 3 clients per capsule, as well as on the new service and cleaning protocols for these infrastructures.

In a proposal that also includes a set of rules and processes to ensure the safety of both clients and staff, such as the compulsory usage of gloves and other PPE (personal protective equipment) for its resources and the usage of a long wooden tray to serve its customers at a safe distance within their capsules.

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MCDONALD’S

F&B | NETHERLANDS | CONSUMER EXPERIENCE

In Arhem (Netherlands) McDonalds has been trialling a prototype concept of how their physical spaces will operate after the return of customers, in diverse geographies, to physical spaces. From new infrastructures and equipment to in-store services, there are up to 50 processes in the physical experience that can be altered in order to ensure a maximisation of occupancy in light of the restrictions posed by social distancing and other health safety public measures.

In this location we witness social distancing floor decals both in the interior and also in the exterior of the store where queues are expected to begin (also due to a reduced number of available kiosks for ordering).

There are no acrylic barriers placed in all of the tables, yet the material is used in certain areas of the dining room and also in personal order placement areas where there is contact between awaiting customers and staff. A table service is also being considered, in which consumers can pick-up their orders directly from a trolley without having to enter into direct contact with employees. There are also sanitizing stations placed in the storefronts where consumers are directed to wash their hands before entering the interior.

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STADT HOTEL

HOSPITALITY | F&B | SWEDEN | OFFER INNOVATION

Facing a reality without visitors, reduced occupancy and booking rates, several hotel chains have developed ingenious solutions to continue using their spaces during the confinement period.

Here we observe the launch of digital sales channels (as is the case for Vila Galé in Portugal that released a click&collect grocery service), the reinforcement of public health systems by repurposing the infrastructure into temporary hospitals or, maintaining its core function, into temporary lodging for health professionals.

In Sweden, however, the Stadt Hotel in Lidköping has temporarily recreated its offer, to mitigate the impact of null occupancy rates, by equipping bedrooms with the necessary components (e.g. tables, chairs, cutlery, …) to transform 67 of them into dining areas of a pop-up restaurant within the hotel. As such, each bedroom became an exclusive area to serve couples and groups (up to 12 people) where orders are placed through the usual “room-service” channel.

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ONII

GROCERIES | BRAZIL | PRODUCT INNOVATON

Onii is a brazillian start-up that has developed a cashierless store solution, an autonomous model, to support its physical hyper-proximity formats in residential areas.

With no store staff or check-out systems, in what appears to be a “democratization” of the Amazon Go experience, each store, within a repurposed container, has 4 square meters dedicated to the sale of convenience and other grocery products. The access is given to residents through a QR code generated by its proprietary app, in which a user also selects products and their payment.

Launched amidst a Covid-19 panorama in São Paulo, the start-up has become a huge success as a relevant alternative to overcrowded supermarkets and their pressured delivery models due to increased demand.

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SEPHORA

H&B | US | STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS

With consumer expenditure falling to new lows, witnessed during the confinement stage and also expectedly present in a “return to normality” given the low consumer confidence levels and high expectations of a serious economic recession, Sephora wants to explore payment flexibility models in its digital channels to make beauty products more accessible, especially for its millennial and generation Z segments.

To this end, the beauty retailer recently announced a partnership with Klarna, a Swedish fintech specialized in financial services such as payment solutions for digital channels as well as direct and post-purchase payments, to add the option of instalment payments in the purchase of more than 390 brands present within its ecosystem.

Currently only available for North American consumers, the program “Shop Now, Pay later” enables Sephora’s e-commerce users to split their purchases into 4 equal payments, without any limits nor hidden interest rates.

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SHOPIFY

RETAIL | TECH | US & CANADA | OFFER INNOVATION

In an initiative that reinforces the transition of Shopify, from a service for players to implement virtual stores and other omnichannel functions to a digital aggregator marketplace and logistics operator, the e-commerce giant has recently announced the launch of its new B2C (business-to-consumer) app.

Available, in this initial stage, for the North American markets, Shop allows its users to search, purchase and follow brands and product catalogues of over 1 million retailers using Shopify’s solutions as well as to monitor their purchased items in similar fashion to a food-delivery platform order.

Additionally the app also supports a “Shop Local” function that connects users to local retailers. A component that would only be introduced later in the year but that, due to the pandemic, was swiftly incorporated in order to mitigate the impact on these small businesses.

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SPG (SIMON PROPERTY GROUP)

RETAIL | US | PRODUCT INNOVATION

Since the 5th of May, Simon Property Group, the largest shopping centre operator in the United States, has reopened more than 49 of its properties with several protocols that paint a clear picture of how these spaces will be in a pandemic era.

Far from a traditional business-as-usual there are several operational measures and physical restrictions in place to ensure the safety of all stakeholders and compliance with defined social distancing rules.

Amongst which, we highlight the monitoring of retailers staff body temperature, the implementation of technological tools to monitor foot traffic, new protocols and infrastructural requirements in the purchasing process, reduced schedules to reinforce cleaning hours and the provision of masks as well as hand-washing and temperature monitoring stations for visitors.

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MACY’S

FASHION | H&B | US | PRODUCT INNOVATION

Given the growing number of states waiving their imposed restrictions, Macy’s, the north American department store chain (mainly for beauty, fashion and apparel products), has presented its plan for reopening physical points of sales and the protocols that each of them will have to ensure.

Beyond financial viability concerns and defined public measures, each location will have to check for several requirements such as the installation of sanitation equipment in high traffic in-store areas (e.g. entry, exit and payment areas), creation of training programs and codes of conduct for store staff, setting-up protective barriers in payment areas, establishment of new cleaning procedures and of social distancing and health safety awareness signals.

With the added closure of several of its, in-store, core services, as is the case for spa, beauty, tailoring and ear-piercing, amongst others, the physical experience of the chain will also be severely maimed especially in its ability to foster client relations.

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STARBUCKS

F&B | US | CHANNEL INNOVATION

Starbucks has recently showcased its plan to open 90% of its locations in the United States by early June. With its grab&go aspirational model being already famous at a global level, the coffee chain will increasingly bet on take-away formats through mobile payments in order to restrict movement within the stores and limit contact between store staff and clients.

In this context, Starbucks launched a new “Entryway hand-off” service in most of its locations, in which consumers receive their order through a window in the storefront. Furthermore, in locations with the necessary infrastructure, the chain will also complement this service with a drive-thru options and ensure a delivery model through UberEats.

Only in a reduced number of places customers will be allowed to enter the stores, nevertheless seating will be removed to avoid prolonged stays and there will be floor markings to signal safety distancing between consumers waiting in queues.

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BORD FOR EN

F&B | SWEDEN | CONSUMER EXPERIENCE

Located in the middle of a prairie, Bord for En (“Table for One”) is a new type of dining concept, a social isolation-driven pop-up restaurant. One table, one chair and a system of pulleys to deliver the orders instead of a waiter.

Each meal is composed of three courses and, at the end, the “bill” follows a known “pay what you want” pricing strategy whereby clients only pay what they deem fair. The initiative proposed by the Swedish couple, Persson and Karlsson, both professionals in this sector, will be available from the 11th of May until the beginning of August in what constitutes a personal experience to be enjoyed without any company during the pandemic.

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MRC (MIRVAC RETAIL CENTRES)

GROCERIES | AUSTRALIA | OFFER INNOVATION

Mirvac Retail Centres has recently launched a new Click&Collect service, dubbed “Essential Express”, to promote small food retail businesses, hard-hit by the Australian pandemic physical restrictions, which lacked the necessary structure and operational models to adapt and implement the necessary technological solutions in order to stave-off the business impact.

Incorporated, as a pilot, in the centre Monee Ponds Central, in Melbourne, the service provides consumers a digital front to purchase vegetables and other fresh products or create personalized essential goods baskets that they can then pick-up in a designated parking area for contactless drive-thru.

Also, in Sydney, the centre Cherrybrooks Village also adapted its pick-up service in collaboration with a local food retail format, Martelli’s Market, to deploy a similar operation ensuring the capacity to serve customers with a next-day fulfilment proposition.

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UNILEVER

FMCG | PORTUGAL | STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS

Unilever FIMA has been added to the growing list of FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) groups that have recently set-up ´direct-to-consumer´ operations.

In partnership with Glovo and Uber, that recently in Portugal have started delivering, amongst others, convenience and grocery products at home, the group launched its virtual store “O Seu Mercado” (Your Market). Here a consumer can find products from the main brands of Unilver FIMA, such as Dove, Skip, Comfort, CIF, Knoorr, Calvé, Lipton, Wall’s, …

With a promise for expedite delivery, at this stage only in the Lisbon Area, this initiative has the objective of “making consumers lives easier” allowing them to remain at home or not having to wait extended periods for their orders from large grocers, given the current demand pressure on these formats delivery models and digital stores.

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AGAP

LEISURE & FITNESS | PORTUGAL | CONSUMER EXPERIENCE

AGAP (the Portuguese national association for gyms and other training academies) has delivered, in the 16th of April, its plan of measures and best practises that should serve as a solid foundation to define the necessary protocols for the reopening of gyms and other fitness spaces in Portugal, estimated to happen during June.

The plan, thus, suggests a reduction of machine equipment of 50% and its frequent cleaning, obligatory booking of training slots (that should not exceed one hour), maximum levels of one person per each 4 square metres, installation of protective barriers and social distancing floor markings in receptions, closed gym showers and restricted utilization of shower rooms, gaps between group classes to guarantee cleaning of facilities, restriction of non-accompanied group trainings, limitation of contact between operators and clients, provision of disinfectant and other hand-washing products, …

This will continue to be one of the sectors most pressured by the pandemic as the current business impact may translate to a 60% permanent closure of spaces (as reported by AGAP) and given the added risk of a second wave, which as seen in China, led to the closure of these spaces again.

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EY | Future Consumer Index

The 5 Segments that will surface in the ”return to normality”

Expecations of increases in future consumption baskets for the segments Back to Normal and Cautiously Extravangant

Surveys conducted, on April 6th, across geographies (US, Canada, UK, France and Germany) to gauge evolutions in behaviours, consumer sentiment and future expectations, N=4,859

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INDYME

RETAIL | TECH | US | PRODUCT INNOVATION

Indyme, a shopper engagement and loss prevention tools company based in San Diego (US) has recently announced the launch of SmartDome, a technological solution designed for essential categories that remain open and to, later, support the reopening stage of various retail sectors with the imposed social distancing measures.

Working in similar fashion to a security camera, this device generates real-time information on foot traffic and congestion inside stores in order to monitor social distance levels and communicate infractions in regard to the defined measures.

New technological developments that actively change the physical consumption experience, as for instance contactless and/or cashierless solutions, will ramp up in scale as the minimazation of human interactions and contact will be a critical factor to ensure in the reopening of several economies after their emergency state.

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KOHL’S

RETAIL | US | OFFER INNOVATION

In early April, Kohl’s recreated its click&collect offer, conditioned by the temporary closure of its points-of-sale to the public, with the introduction of a new Drive-Thru service, Drive Up + Pop Your Trunk, that ensures the limitation of interactions between staff and clients alike.

Eligible for beauty, fashion, home and child products, the North-American department stores chain provides consumers the option to travel to the temporary closed stores in order to collect their purchases without having to leave their vehicle. After an order is verified and a client signals his arrival a staff-member will meet him in the assigned parking space and place the items purchased in the trunk or back-seat of the car.

In similar fashion, we also witness in Health Walgreens extending this drive-thru options to the vast majority of pharmaceutical products that do not require prescription and in electronics and technological products with ´Worten Drive Thru´ set-up for the brand’s stores that remain open in Portugal.

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SUMOL + COMPAL

FMCG | PORTUGAL | CHANNEL INNOVATION

Throughout the last few weeks, there have been several initiatives undertook by beverage brands and FMCGs (fast-moving consumer goods), to establish a digital sales channel and/or partner up with logistics operators that ensure home-delivery models, in order to mitigate the impact of the closure of the usual points of contact with consumers.

Such is the case for Seame group that launched an online wine store, for Lisbon Beer Department that set-up a delivery offer of beer packs with various artisanal beer brands and Delta which incorporated all the groups brands in its virtual store. In this space we highlight Saborista, the already existing digital channel of Sumol + Compal group, that recently reformulated its offer, ensuring its own distribution network in Lisbon and Porto and leveraging relevant promotions, exclusive products and free-delivery on orders above 20€.

Beyond the usual juices, the site also showcases the large collection of the groups brands, from non-alchoolic beverages to beers and grocery products, thus positioning itself, more than a normal DTC (direct-to-consumer) sales channel, as a marketplace that can be an interesting alternative to existing supermarket and groceries online concepts.

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JOHN LEWIS

FASHION | UK | OFFER INNOVATION

To meet consumer needs during their confinement, John Lewis, the premium department stores brand in the UK, adapted its in-store assistance services to a new digital front.

The initiative provides the possibility for clients to book free consultations, through a videoconferencing system, with the retailer’s specialists in order to receive the needed advice as well as receive a personalized post-session document detailing all that was discussed in terms of topics, ideas generated and purchasing wishlists.

The first launch of this digital service was directed towards the chain’s fashion consumers enabling them to book, via instagram, a personal consultation with stylists from John Lewis Style Studios in order to streamline the various wardrobe and outfit decisions. Nevertheless the service is already available on a range of different themes related to the categories in which the retailer is present – sports, décor, technology products, nutrition, …

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CECONOMY

ELECTRONICS & CULTURE | GERMANY | CONSUMER EXPERIENCE

In Germany, with the “return to normality” after the declared end of the lockdown phase, the government instituted a series of social distancing measures that will significantly impact the consumption experience in a stage-by-stage reopening of the several economic sectors.

While the definitive roll-out plan for several businesses is still not set in stone, largely due to pandemic concerns that can, if aggravated, retrograde the country back into confinement and force authorities into re-planning efforts, on the 20th of April several stores, from different categories, under 800 sq.meters were allowed to re-open as well as other businesses such as auto-dealers, bookstores and furniture stores (on the 22nd) regardless of their size as long as they meet the imposed health safety requirements.

Due to enforced measures at this stage of re-opening, several key retailers, in their traditional flagship formats, will have to explore possible solutions to ensure they meet the cut. In this regard, the CECONOMY’s electronics chains, Saturn and Mediamarkt, cornered off a smaller sales area to meet the space requirements, with the rest of the store being separated and used solely as a “back-office” for staff to pick-up and bring consumer products to the storefront.

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REWE

GROCERIES | GERMANY | CHANNEL INNOVATION

Rewe has expanded its recent click&collect service to deal with the increased demand in the sector and the pressure placed on the german supermarket chain home-delivery options.

Until the end of April, the group plans to install pick-up points, temporary and permanent, in 700 of its locations, where consumers will be able to collect their online orders (the pop-up spaces will be in effect for the next 6 months).

Additionally, in line with the overhauled omnichannel strategy to distribute its digital and physical demand streams, the chain is also planning to accelerate the upcoming installation of zero-contact pick-up points given the necessary social distancing in-store configurations that will be essential to comply with the enforced measures and mitigate their impact on sales levels.

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NORTHGATE MARKET

GROCERIES | LEISURE & CONTENTS | US | CHANNEL INNOVATION

In the US, various grocery and other food retail concepts that cater to specific market niches have witnesses a loss in the sense of community and in their in-store personalized service, inherent to these players, due to the “survival mode” that currently governs the physical and digital consumption experience.

To mitigate this impact on one of the core tenets of their value proposition, retailers such as Northgate (Gonzalez) Market in Los Angeles and Jungle Jims in Ohio, amongst others, are looking to add a layer of digital contents to engage their clients in this pandemic environment.

The former, an Hispanic chain, does it through the launch of a bilingual platform, Stay-at-Home Solutions, where it publishes recipes, DIY ideias and other activities for entertaining families currently under confinement and the latter, Jungle Jims, wants to provide its customers with a behind-the-scenes view on the brands and market’s physical spaces creation process as well as other culinary-related experiences using Facebook’s streaming functionality to conduct a series of events and Q&As with the founder and other involved professionals.

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PARK DONG JU

LEISURE & CONTENTS | SOUTH KOREA | CONSUMER EXPERIENCE

In South Korea, Drive-In Cinemas have been gaining relevance as a safe temporary entertainment solution at a time when the population cannot enjoy theatres, shows and other collective leisure options due to the set pandemic restrictions.

In Park Dong-Ju’s drive-in, where audiences can watch a movie in the comfort of their cars parked in front of a large outdoor screen, ticket sales have been growing exponentially throughout the last few weeks and parking spaces have been sold out nearly every weekend since the social isolation measures have been put into effect.

Not withstanding the fact that this is, in its nature, a temporary solution of an industry for which the “drive-in” format has been in decline since the 60s we also witness the resurgence of this trend in other geographies such as Essen in Germany and in several locations in the US.

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MCKINSEY

CONSUMER | GLOBAL | MARKET RESEARCH

Mckinsey has been closely monitoring, through the conduction of several surveys, this confinement period of populations across a broad range of countries which includes the key European markets where SONAE SIERRA is present, i.e. Portugal, Spain, Italy and Germany)

Amongst the several dimensions included in the research, the consultancy has been analysing “Consumer Sentiment”, a key variable in understanding consumption behaviours when economies re-open. This variable will be an important input for several businesses to prepare adaptation and response strategies that readily anticipate the impact of the public health and economic crises.

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TRENDWATCHING

CONSUMER | GLOBAL | MARKET RESEARCH

Trendwatching, one of the leading global information repositories on consumer trends and insights, has recently published a list of 10 transformation that highlight the possible paths through which the post-pandemic world will be drawn.

With a more digital, more conscious to his health and wellbeing and less prone to human-interaction consumer, these will be the key trends that, in spite of already being present, to some extent, in certain geographies, will gain a renewed global relevance accelerated by the crisis and the consequent changes in consumer behaviour.

Already, implicitly, showcased in previous newsletters, this week, in particular, the lens falls on Open-Source Solutions, specifically in regard to the collaboration of entities that present solutions to issues generated in this pandemic context.

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CÂMARA DE CASCAIS

RETAIL | PORTUGAL | STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS

The Câmara de Cascais (Cascais City Council), in line with its plan of measures to be implemented in the pandemic context, has recently introduced its app “Compre Agora, Ganhe Depois” (Buy Now, Redeem Later). The app, developed in collaboration with county’s agency DNA Cascais-Commerce and Entrepreneurship, CEIIA, Pagaqui, AECC (Cascais Business Association) and Nova SBE, aims at providing a level of cash-flow to businesses through the sale of vouchers that can be redeemed once they re-open.

Targeting local firms and/or those with operations in the region, the platform allows these entities to create discounted vouchers for their products or services that can later be used by citizens, up to a year after the acquisition date.

This app is, therefore, an important tool that enables a closer relation between municipalities and their business ecosystem, creating shared-value interactions for both parties, in order to mitigate the critical treasury issues generated by the country’s emergency state.

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SUPERBOCK

F&B | PORTUGAL | SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Developed in partnership with the platform “Preserve”, one of the initiatives put forward by Tech4Covid19 community which was presented in the first edition of this newsletter, “Bock In Business” is an online solidarity platform that promotes the sales of vouchers to support restaurants, cafes, bars and clubs in light of their highly conditioned revenue streams due to the closing of physical spaces.

Through the platform, consumers may acquire consumption vouchers, ranging in prices from 10 to 50€, to use (without a time limit) when the locations re-open. For each 10 euros collected, the beer brand from Super Bock group will also contribute with an additional 5€. The total sum will then be directly sent to the proprietaries of the establishments within the list for which the aforementioned coupons can be obtained.

The social initiative, put in place until the end of May (considering this date as a possible return to “normality” milestone), will involve at least 2 to 3 thousand beneficiaries, with the added possibility of this number growing over time.

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HDE & EHI RETAIL INSTITUTE

LOGISTICS | GERMANY | STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS

HDE (German Retail Federation) in partnership with EHI Retail Institute have recently launched “Acting Together”, an online platform that intends to facilitate the process of reinforcing the operational capacity of sectors currently under pressure due to the increased levels of demand, in particular food retail sectors and value chains that have began exploring home delivery models.

To this end the platform accelerates (i) partnerships with firms and/or workers currently in layoff that can be, temporarily, recruited to reinforce delivery functions and (ii) operationalization of swift loaning processes for storage spaces and other required logistic resources (e.g. vehicles).

The initiative, that has already registered 21 requests since its recent inception, involves large groups such as Amazon, Ikea, Walmart, Euronics, …

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TIKTOK

H&B | GLOBAL | CHANNEL INNOVATION | COMMUNICATION

TikTok, a social network that enables its users to create and share short video contents within their communities, has been, throughout the last month, gaining its place as one of the channels most used by Gen-Z youths across the globe.

Since early March, the platform has been reporting a growing number of users and a significant influx of brands to this stage. Amongst them we find, with strong presence, beauty product brands exploring new content formats, such as ASMR, to actively contribute to their followers wellbeing.

ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response) is a psychological effect derived from an immersive sound experience, producing in its spectators results similar to those of a meditation session.

Brands as Sephora, Milk Makeup and Huda Beauty that already explored this concept in Youtube are now adapting their content to TikTok, banking on the popularity of the platform as a relevant opportunity to increase their audiences.

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AUCHAN (ALCAMPO)

ELECTRONICS & CULTURE | SPAIN | CHANNEL INNOVATION

Auchan Retail in Spain (Alcampo) introduced a new service, aiming at making it easier for consumers to purchase home appliances and other technology products, using Whatsapp Business. This is the messaging platform off-the-shelve solution designed for SMEs to allow them to create product and services catalogues as well as to automate, organize and swiftly respond to client messages.

Enabling direct contact between buyers and store professionals, by chat, call and/or video-call, this new sales channel was conceived for clients that crave a personalized buying experience (which, due to the present pandemic conditions, cannot occur within physical locations).

For now, there are 20 hypermarkets situated in Madrid and Catalonian regions offering this service, through which Alcampo’s staff may advise clients in real time – making use of the app’s photo and video functions to showcase products.

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SELFRIDGES

LEISURE & CONTENTS | UK | OFFER INNOVATION

“Laid-off and spending more time at home?” this is the motto behind the new offer of Selfridge’s, the renowned chain of department stores in the UK, online channel – a set of DIY (do-it-yourself) kits for the creation of culinary products during social isolation.

From curating bacon, baking rainbow cakes and marshemellows to the process of creating different types of cheese, Selfridges delivers all the tools and necessary ingredients to embark on these at-home culinary projects at a relatively low price point.

Projects which gain relevance in a context where individuals, imprisoned in their residences, strive for new entertainment and learning formats not just out of the pure necessity to keep themselves occupied but also yearning to acquire new personal skills during this period.

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REDUNIQ

RETAIL| PORTUGAL | OFFER INNOVATION

REDUNIQ, in the current pandemic context, has recently launched a new payments service, @Payments, a solution that aims at enabling the online transactional capabilities (by email) of retailers and other commercial players that do not have a website or virtual store implemented and are not directly linked to fast-moving consumer goods

The tool presents itself as an off-the-shelve solution given that it allows its users (be it restaurants, stores, cafes, …) to establish a digital sales channel without the need to implement a virtual store and ensure its integration with back-offfice systems, therefore simplifying the entire process with a swift and cost effective set-up.

@Payments also comes with access to an Administrative Centre tool that gives businesses an overview and provides the tools to manage their transactions. Subscription is exempt of monthly payments, fixed costs and other activation fees.

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FAST-MP

F&B | PORTUGAL | OFFER INNOVATION

FAST-MP, an app from a Portuguese startup originally developed to aid restaurants in better managing their queue times in large commercial spaces, has ´repositioned´ its offer to support the new operational requirements of F&B chains and restaurants that are increasingly betting on building take-away and delivery functions to mitigate the impact of closed physical spaces with the enforced lockdown aimed at slowing the spread of the virus.

The platform, which provides free activation during this stage, allows its users to effectively manage and organize their orders and payments, with the only cost being a small fee charged on the transactional volume of the embedded MBWAY payments solution.

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OUTSYSTEMS

CULTURE | TECH | PORTUGAL | STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS

Portugal #EntraEmCena (#EntersTheStage) is one of the initiatives launched by Outsystems in the context of its Covid-19 Community Response Program, a community founded by the Unicorn dedicated to the creation of 20 apps to fight the virus outbreak. This, in particular, is a cultural platform, joining artists, brands and private and public firms in a collaborative effort to promote and support the national cultural environment, bringing it to an unconventional “stage”.

Distancing itself from a philanthropic concept, the platform serves as a digital marketplace enabling several touch points between artists looking to present and raise funding for their ideas or respond to a specific challenge (posted by firms and other entities). Either way, the artists will be directly remunerated by the member firms and entities in case they are willing to pursue the ideas or accept their proposals.

The initiative, developed in partnership with other firms such as Academia de Código, Caper, Hi Interactive and Lohad, aims at thawing the impact of the pandemic on a hard-hit sector with the mass closure of its workspaces (museums, theatres, cinemas, ballets, …)

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IKEA

HOME | TECH | GLOBAL | CHANNEL INNOVATION

This, probably, being one of the longest periods in which we live uninterruptedly inside, the threat of Covid-19 has, unequivocally, contributed to establish new home-related family lifestyles (with new workspaces, leisure places, …) In this context, Ikea has been developing a digital strategy to enable its positioning as a virtual platform, ables to respond to the design requirements of its consumers in closer proximity.

After the acquisition of Geomagical Labs, by Inkga Group, Ikea wants to integrate new design tools with 3D and AI visual technology in its app, Ikea Place, so that consumers can better, in a more interactive and real time fashion, visualize different designs and IKEA products in their home environments. With this improvement, users will only have to take a picture of their selected space using their phone and uploading it onto the platform, enabling to create different spaces with the desired products and overall design.

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ASICS

FASHION | SPORTSWEAR | JAPAN | CHANNEL INNOVATION

Initially planned to present its new collection at its headquarters in Tokyo, Asics, the Japanese sneakers brand, due to the imposed pandemic restrictions, recreated its physical presentation into a digital environment.

Employing virtual reality technology, in a project developed with the collaboration of the renowned global PR agency Edelman and Solarflare Studio (a London-based firm specialized in immersive experiences) Asics states that opening its Virtual Innovation Lab to the public was the most effective format to demonstrate the technology that supports the entire development process behind the creation of the new sneaker collection. To the attending journalists a set of Oculus Rift was made available so that they could better appreciate the event at home.

In a further attempt to generate awareness to the important role that sports plays in society and in physical wellbeing, especially during this isolation period, the brand has waived the access fee for its at-home exercise platform (Asics Studio) in similar fashion to what other sportswear brands have been doing, as is the case for Nike and Adidas.

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MORRISONS

GROCERIES | UK | OFFER INNOVATION

Due to the increasing demand for home delivery models in the UK’s food retail sector, at a time where social isolation has been widespread across the country, Morrisons has launched a new line of its “Food Boxes” offer, with essential products for the creation of meals at home.

Leveraging its initial box-delivery service created in mid-2019 in line with its initiative “Too God to Go” that aimed at reducing food waste, the new line ensures that its consumers, stuck at home or adverse to travelling at this stage, have enough ingredients to prepare meals for an entire week. With the success of the two initial boxes (vegetarian and ´meat-eater´) the group reinforced the offer with 3 additional options, one conceived for family units, another eight with ready cooked meals and the last with eight almost-ready meals.

In Portugal, Continente has also recently presented its concept for personalized baskets of essential grocery and child-related products, jumping in on the current attractiveness of these home-delivery formats, as demonstrated in the previous edition (BIOEMCASA)

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SAINSBURY’S

GROCERIES | UK | HOME-DELIVERY MODELS

After temporarily taking its bicycle delivery service, Chop-Chop, ´offline´ to reinforce the capacity to re-stock shelves in open stores, Sainsbury’s will now make the service available again to use its closed locations as logistic hubs that serve consumers in surrounding areas.

The strategy, to be implemented at a national scale, aims at transforming the closed convenience formats in a “dark stores” concept that will be used as cross-docking points to serve orders in close proximity leveraging the last-mile capability of Chop-Chop. The first pilot occurring in Blackfriar, a central area of London, has the ability to serve up to 3,500 customers per week living within a 3 mile radius.

In a social isolation context where the demand for food retail, and home-delivery services therein, has reached unprecedented numbers, there are many solutions being tested by these players to increase their response capacity, from reinforcing their staff and bundle offers up to the present example of exploring new logistic models.

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LEGO

LEISURE & CONTENTS | GLOBAL | SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

In light of the daunting number of children at home without any educational support, circa 1.5 billion according to an Unesco forecast, LEGO has gathered its teams of designers, specialists and creatives in order to provide new formats of online educational entertainment.

The platform, Lets Build Together, where daily challenges are posted and building ideas are shared including step-by-step tips, is, in this context, an initiative put forward to alleviate some of the stress that families are facing in trying to keep their children active and entertained during this phase, with the added value of also teaching important lessons on collaboration, communication and problem-solving skills.

Content platforms, in this case those related to children, in which it should also be duly highlighted the recent “Diversão em Casa. Gosto Tanto” (Fun at Home. I’m Loving It.) project by Mcdonalds, will gain a new found relevance in a context where educational support is lacking and free-time abundant, reinforcing the social role of their brands as Educators.

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UBER

RETAIL | PORTUGAL | OFFER INNOVATION

Uber has recently announced its new B2B service, DROP-OFF, that will allow its UBER EATS couriers and Ride Hailing drivers to conduct home-deliveries of (physical) products from retailers, consumer goods and convenience product firms.

The solution is aligned with the mobility's operator plan to adapt its Portuguese operations in this pandemic context.

There are also a new set of rules and initiatives being put in place for restaurants, drivers, users and couriers alike as, for instance, the waiving of access and activation fees for any restaurant signing in on the platform until the 3d of April

This is a strategy that UBER is also carrying out across different geographies, such as France, Brasil and Spain, through partnerships being established with players like Carrefour, Galp, Pague Menos and Shell to reinforce the home-delivery function of these firms.

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TAOBAO LIFE

RETAIL | CHINA | CHANNEL INNOVATION

Taobao Life is the embedded livestream-shopping functionality that resides within Alibaba's group e-commerce apps, in China.

In the last few weeks the platform has witnessed a number of firms in different categories, from hospitality to car dealers, restaurants and fashion insignias alike, that have been using Taobao Life to implement new in real-time relationship dynamics with their consumers: events, ´telemarketing´, tutorials, …

The explored concepts, the “developed stages”, allow for a strong interactivity between brands and consumers, going from simple reviews up to immediate online purchasing. Amongst the many interesting examples, here we highlight:

- Cosmetics brand Forest Cabin conducting their make-up tutorials with integrated product sales

- F&B Chain Meizhou Dongpo training their Chefs to offer workshops in traditional Chinese cuisine ahead of the upcoming Festival of Lights

- Adidas using the platform to debut their limited edition Superstar Sneaker

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JUDY

RETAIL | USA | PRODUCT INNOVATION

With the rapid propagation of the virus in the United States, the Emergency Preparedness market has been booming with an influx of new brands selling their products and services that provide consumers with a sense of security in these turbulent times.

In this context, Judy, a January launched brand in this ecosystem that offers a range of survival bundles containing products such as food, blankets, first aid kits and multi-tool, has been growing exponentially

Leveraging strategic partnerships, with celebrities such as the Kardashians, and carefully repurposed unboxing formats, the brand has been able to position itself as a Luxury retail offer with premium prices.

 

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SAS

HEALTH | SWEDEN | STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS

In an initiative that demonstrates that Employee Sharing has been gaining relevance at a global scale, SAS, the Scandinavian airline, has announced that a large part of its workforce, which had been temporarily laid-off, will be offered, in partnership with Marianne and Marcus Wallenberg foundation, the option for fast-track training to reinforce the Swedish healthcare system.

These professionals will be trained in providing information to patients and their families, sterilising equipment, and basic administrative duties in order to improve the System’s response capability vis-à-vis the growing number of cases infected by the virus.

In addition, sharing some similarities to a trend presented in the last edition (HEMA), McDonalds in Germany will also provide Aldi with its, much needed, out-of-work staff seeking to meet the growing demand in the Groceries market.

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NUFACE

H&B | GLOBAL | CHANNEL INNOVATION | COMMUNICATION

In light of the restrictions facing retailer locations where NUFACE was present, the luxury cosmetics brand, known for its facial treatment offer, has grasped the need to rethink its online presence, testing and integrating new formats in its communication and digital marketing strategy, in order to ensure the relations with its brand ambassadors and clients.

With the introduction of masterclasses and other virtual sessions with their spokespersons, the brand claims that it has increased its reach in different geographies and has, simultaneously, observed faster results in generating affinity with its products. In terms of consumer relations, notwithstanding the on-going promotional campaigns and reduction of purchasing barrier, the brand has also leveraged this stage in order to communicate with increased proximity, polling its clients in what topics should be addressed.

Cosmetic brands are being forced into rapidly pivoting their physical and digital channel strategies. An effort which is exacerbated by the added layer of complexity in balancing traditional promotional campaigns with the needed empathy that should be voiced in regard to the wellbeing of their communities impacted by the pandemic.

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BREWDOG

F&B | UK + OTHERS | CHANNEL INNOVATION

Brewdog, a chain of 102 Pubs present across the U.K, Australia, U.S and Germany “digitalized” its physical spaces as the imposed restrictions forced their closure.

Their Online Bar concept provides a series of live events and sessions, using the Zoom interface (an off-the-shelve solution), dedicated to diverse themes: beer tastings, DIY (do-it-yourself) Brewing, Comedy Shows and Pub Quizzes (activities that can usually be found in their locations)

The Online Bar is also a sales channel, promoting cross-selling efforts of merchandise and products from their brands in order to monetize the experience.

In a similar fashion and occupying a closer space, both geographically and culturally, we also witness the advent of Wine Culture projects from Esporão and Aveleda that provide workshops, wine-tastings and related gastronomic experiences in an effort to bring their local offerings into a digital stage in order to maintain the brands presence in consumers top of mind.

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BIOEMCASA

GROCERIES | PORTUGAL | HOME-DELIVERY MODELS

At a time when the portuguese find themselves confined to their residences, brands like Bioemcasa, Hortas da Cortesia and Cesta Verde have been reporting demand volumes that far outweigh the response capacity they had before the crisis started.

In part, this phenomenon, the growth in demand for personalized home-delivery “packs”, of vegetables, fruits and other biological products, reflects a renewed concern with dietary and nutritional values as stranded individuals start cooking all meals for their family units in-house.

Subscription-based concepts that were already emerging now reveal a new potential for increased growth, with an interesting ability to target different market niches. The demand for fresh products (also meat and fish) is, to some extent, being ensured by these types of concepts that constitute a safe alternative for those that seek to limit their social contact.

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I-D MAGAZINE

LEISURE & CONTENTS | WELLBEING | GLOBAL | BRANDED CONTENT

Due to the increased anxiety caused by the excess of information regarding the negative impact of coronavirus, content platforms such as I-D Magazine (and Elle Magazine), a British fashion, art and music content platform with a focus on youth culture, are working tirelessly to prescribe positivity.

Here they do it with the creation of a weekly newsletter dedicated to a number of “good news” related to the pandemic that generate optimism and hope in what concerns the ability of society, as a whole, in adapting to this new status quo. From a more clinical point-of-view, we also witness the advent of self-help tools such as the one that SHINE developed to boost mental wellbeing.

With the psychological impact of isolation, anxiety and other concerns such as financial security, initiatives that promote individual wellbeing will gain a new level of empathy with consumers.

In this context, in the 30th of March, the food retailer Continente surprised its clients by offering more that 50.000 flowers in stores located across Portugal with the goal to alleviate the issues currently facing people’s livelihoods.

SONAE SIERRA + DOTT

RETAIL | PORTUGAL | INNOVATE CHANNELS

Sonae Sierra has just launched a solution offering all tenants from its portfolio under management in Portugal to keep their business running online, even in cases in which stores are physically closed, and / or do not have their own online store.

In partnership with Dott, from the 27th March the online platform is available, with no entry fee, enabling all participating tenants to sell online. Until the 31st of May no Dott or Sonae Sierra comission will be charged upon sales.

AThe solution was developed with the support of Dott, a generalis Marketplace, with 17 categories, starting from supermarket & beverages, to fashion & footware, as well as products for animals, sports and vehicle accessories. Dott will provide support to tenants in the implementation of the online catalogue, as well as in the invoicing and collection procedures. Logistics and home delivery are also included and free of charge until 31st of May, following all the Safety and Hygiene measures required by the NHS.

Access to online stores can be done through each shopping centre site,Participating Shopping Centres are: :AlbufeiraShopping, ArrábidaShopping, CascaiShopping, Centro Colombo, CC Continente Portimão, Centro Vasco da Gama, Coimbra Retail Park, GaiaShopping, GuimarãeShopping, LeiriaShopping, MadeiraShopping, MaiaShopping, NorteShopping, Nova Arcada, Parque Atlântico, Estação Viana Shopping, CoimbraShopping, ViaCatarina Shopping e Serra Shopping.

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LIN QINGXUAN X WECHAT

H&B | CHINA | INOVAÇÃO DE CANAIS

During the pandemic crisis, the cosmetic company Lin Qingxuan was forced to close a considerable number of stores (including all located in Wuhan), having decided to provide training to its’ more than 100 Beauty Assistants, in the regions most affected, to become digital influencers.

Tools such as WECHAT (identical to WhatsApp) allowed Lin Qingxuan, through these ambassadors, to create the ideal spot to interact with its’ customers and promote online sales. As a result, the sales in the Wuhan region increased by 200%, when compared to the previous year.

This example gives evidence of the need for brick and mortar and P2P (person2person) companies, namely those that were forced to limite their operation, to adapt rapidly to the new digital transaction models and interaction with consumers in order to assure the continuity of their business. Messaging, livestreaming tools and other social platforms can offer an increased visibility, even if indoors, so critical in this new context.

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TECH4COVID-19

TECHNOLOGY/START-UPS | PORTUGAL | SOCIAL ENTREPENEURSHIP

Tech4covid-19 is a social movement, a technological Community of volunteers, that gathers more than 3000 people from numerous areas: engineers, scientists, designers, marketeers, health professionals, amongst many others, with the sole aim of using technology to fight against the outbreak of Covid-19. With letifmotif “Faster than the virus!” this Community has multiple teams working in various areas, 24 hours a day, in creating solutions to minimize the outcome of this pandemic – We are not B2B or B2C , we are H2H - Human to Human.” (manifesto)

Currently, there are 27 projects under progressl.Examples are solutions to ease the shopping trip , providing users the possibility of checking the closest store with less traffic, to share information on where and how users can purchase essential goods using digital channels, or e-learning, through free digital platforms connecting teachers, students and parents.

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HEMA

DELIVERY | CHINA | STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS

In China, businesses most affected by the pandemic, saw an excellent opportunity to avoid dismissal or unpaid leave, taking advantage of their staff by allocating them to new value added activities , (ex. recovery planning), or by “lending” them to others businesses.

More than 40 restaurant, hotel and cinema Groups optimized its’ staff forced by releasing them to reinforce the delivery capacity of HEMA, the new supermarket chain from Alibaba, that was facing some difficulties in delivery due to the sudden increase in demand. An initiative that was also adopted by other platforms 020 (online-to-offline) food / groceries such as ELE and MEITUAN, the supermarket chain 7FRESH from Group JD. This effort was also notorious in the growth of the number of factories for mask production and other medical protection supplies, taking advantage from the experience of other affected assembling lines.

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AGEAS

INSURANCE, RESTAURANTS & HOME DELIVERY | PORTUGAL | SOCIAL RESPONSABILITY

Restaurants have been one of retail categories most affected by the Covid19 pandemic. Thus, AGEAS reinvented its’ insurance offer extending coverage to all restaurants providing home-delivery services.

The coverage against Work Accident Insurance has been extended to “home-delivery” for clients in the Restaurant sector, in case unexpected issues occur during this activity, so important during increasing the pandemic crisis.

AGEAS COMMUNICATION
FIn order to answer to the Restaurant sector need to adapt to this new reality we are facing, the breakingout of the Coronavírus (Covid-19), the AGEAS Clients in the Restaurant sector have their insurance extended for home-delivery with no need to previously communicate it to AGEAS, during the pandemic period. This extention is immediately applicable to the Restaurant sector, also including the use of two-wheel motor vehicles during home-delivery.

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DINING BONDS INITIATIVE

F&B | EUA | INNOVATE OFFER

With the Restaurant industry globaly suffering enormously with the pandemic, a considerable number of businesses in this sector run the risk of closing, namely the smaller and those for which take-away and home delivery is not an option. To support this business in the USA, a group of professionals of the Restaurant Industry put into action the Dining Bonds with the aim of assuring a minimum cash-flow for the most affected restaurants.

Dining bonds are gift certificates, bonds each Restaurant issues according to its pricing and time-limits. Generally, these bonds will be purchased for a reduced value vs. the standard pricing list and can be redeemed later when visiting the establishment , within a time frame of 30 to 60 days after purchase.

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PIZZARIA CAPRICCIOSA

F&B | PORTUGAL | INNOVATE OFFER

With the new measures imposed by the Goverment for the lockdown period in Portugal, the Group Capricciosa had the need to reivent its’ strategy, keeping a reduced number of employees at the point of sale and reallocating other satff members to delivery and take-away of frozen mini-calzones (in Lisboa, Cascais and Carcavelos), so that customers just need to bake them in the comfort of their homes.

This new operational effort will promote the continuity of the business during the quarantine period. Customers will be able to pick a pack of 4 for 10€ of mixed choices, Chicken, Vegetarian and Rotolinis de Salame Picante, available every day for take-away with scheduled deliveries for Tuesdays and Thursdays. Payment is accepted by MBWAY or at the store.

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MASTERCLASS

LEISURE & CONTENT | GLOBAL | SOCIAL RESPONSABILITY

Masterclass a very popular plataform offering online lessons with several celebrities and specialists in various areas . Free Live Sessions, Q&As with professionals become available in times in which social isolation is required in countries affected by the pandemic.

This initiative is an addtional one from Masterclass, an organization that offers more than 130.000 free permits to organisations in need, and are promising this year more 200.000, to ease access to a more general audience, that will not think twice on paying 90€ for a lecture program or 180€ to have complete access during 1 year. Yet, synergies will be collected when broadcasting programs, to a broader audience, hence investing in new potential customers.