I agree, Mark. It does come down to personal choice. Consumers who are willing to buy such products are also aware of the possible privacy concerns. However it is Amazon's responsibility to clearly outline what would be recorded, stored and for how long. Transparency is critical here!

Curbside pickup or BOPIS equal convenience for customers. Once you get into the habit of getting something with more convenience, why would you go back to the old ways? For Costco, if they don't provide this convenience soon they might see a drop in their membership renewals and sign-ups.

I think voice-assisted kiosks are good to have right now given the consumer psychology to avoid touching common surfaces but I anticipate this as a supplement to the touch screen experience once there is a vaccine. It depends on how effectively it is implemented and if it is helping the customers get through the transaction as quickly as possible. If there are too many hurdles, customers might abandon the use and move to more familiar options like the touch screen.

Rent the Runway would need to provide a solid value add and maybe additional perks to the customer segment that was renting 16 items or more monthly prior to this change. They also need to focus on their more valuable customers and determine how this decision will affect them.

I completely agree with you, Mark. Patagonia's loyal customers will stick around if they have the same beliefs and the brand might attract new customers who admire brands taking strong stands as well. It is a risky move and takes guts but such brands know what they are getting into.

Product accessibility and shopping convenience are extremely important for a positive customer experience. Given that seamless omnichannel operations and real-time inventory visibility are already table stakes in this highly competitive market.

Amazon has touched on all the key elements of running a successful physical store - safety, touch-less checkout, low price items. But I also see a huge opportunity to include personalization in the Amazon Dash Cart given that Amazon already has purchase history and other data points on the shopper. I also see a more robust preference center when a shopper logs in and make changes to get the most accurate and personalized recommendations.

Why not? If there is a demand for used apparel then I anticipate less friction for used furniture. Great initiative by IKEA! They do have to ensure the repacking, disassembling and now sanitizing of the used furniture is on-point to give confidence to the buyers.

It's great that TikTok saved Candy Me Up but that doesn't mean that will be the formula for all retailers. If the brand story, target audience and brand voice aligns with what TikTok has to offer then I think it can be successful. Also, this app could supplement other more effective channels that are driving sales for the retailers.

From personal experience, this trend is spot on. Cooking fatigue is real and figuring out what to make every day is not fun especially when you have to cater to different dietary needs. One opportunity for grocers is to consider providing meal kits and recipes. If I am able to "add to cart" all the ingredients I need to make a certain recipe that is featured on the grocer's website as per the number of servings, that helps take the fatigue out of menu planning a bit.

Lululemon is taking all the right steps. The virtual waitlist option is likely be to extremely popular during the holiday season. In addition to this, they can probably incorporate AR virtual try-on technology in stores as well as online to help their customers pick the right options for them.

Definitely a great initiative and in line with promoting local businesses but to compete against giants like Amazon where there a millions of products and literally everything available, Cinch Market has to add on as many stores/products as possible, provide excellent customer service to resolve issues and play on the quality of the products they have.

Staycations are huge right now but I see the interest waning once things get better and it's safe to travel again. Retailers and brands should focus on messaging and product positioning that speaks to this trend but also plan ahead to shift the messaging when the time is right.

Building an emotional connection with your target audience is key to building your brand equity and loyalty.

The timetable for making drone deliveries certainly seems to be moving up given the significant increase in online orders and deliveries during this pandemic. Now the question is, how the consumers are going to respond do this? What new set of issues might this bring? A lot is yet to be discovered but it seems to be a step in the right direction at this time and in this environment.