As coronavirus takes its toll on economies and businesses across the globe, Retail Week brings you regular dispatches from international retailers and experts, who provide their insights into how they are coping with the pandemic.

In today’s edition, Justin Sablich, editor at global innovation expert Springwise, analyses six initiatives from around the world that have made an impact during the health crisis.

This article first appeared in issue two of the World Retail Congress report The Retail World 2020: Retailing in a time of crisis.

These are uncertain times, to say the least – priorities are shifting daily as the impact of coronavirus is dealt with on a global scale.

All the while, retailers have been forced to act fast in response to help others suffering through the crisis while attempting to stay on solid ground financially.

“Live-streaming has allowed brands to shift sales online, promote new products and even host multi-day events”

The trends we’ve been tracking are a mix of brand-new approaches and the accelerated use of emerging technologies and platforms.

Live-streaming has allowed brands to shift sales online, promote new products and even host multi-day events. We’ve seen the Chinese phone manufacturer Xiaomi stream a 72-hour product launch, and in Paris Lanvin utilised virtual-reality (VR) and streaming technologies to put on a cloud fashion show.

Elsewhere, digital platforms that aim to enhance the consumer experience are being put to good use by many retailers. We spotted a new virtual storefront platform helping retailers reach new audiences despite depleted foot traffic.

Who knows whether or not such innovative business ideas will have staying power once there is a return to relative normalcy, but it has been inspiring to see so many creative solutions come to light.

Beauty retailer moves store staff online

Lin Qingxuan

Lin Qingxuan retrained its advisers to sell beauty products online

Innovation: In China, Lin Qingxuan was able to successfully pivot during the Covid-19 outbreak by hosting live-streaming sessions to recommend its products on ecommerce channels.

At the heart of the effort were the retailer’s in-store shopping advisers, who were retrained to offer personalised customer service online.

Lin Qingxuan used Alibaba’s Ecommerce Solution for Retail, which can help retailers launch a B2C ecommerce platform in as little as five days.

Insight: Using Alibaba Cloud’s ecommerce solutions, Lin Qingxuan was able to transform its business model. One live-streamed session on Valentine’s Day attracted more than 60,000 people and, as a result, the retailer sold over 400,000 bottles of its camellia oil.

In addition, by leveraging collaboration tools like DingTalk, Lin Qingxuan’s shopping advisers were able to offer personalised customer service online. The company has reported that the sales from one shopping adviser in two hours have equalled that of four retail stores.

 

Virtual storefront platform offers free access to retailers

Streetify

Streetify allows users to access retailers via virtual storefronts 

Innovation: UK-based Streetify, a new ecommerce platform featuring virtual storefronts, launched in late March – just in time to help businesses respond to the Covid-19 crisis.

Users of the app and website can choose an actual street they wish to visit and scroll left or right to “walk” up and down. They are shown virtual storefronts and can click on any store to enter its Streetify website.

Business owners can put marketing messages in their virtual storefront windows, announcing deals, delivery options, in-stock goods and more.

Insight: If shoppers can’t visit the high street, why not bring the high street to shoppers? Even before Covid-19, traffic to bricks-and-mortar stores was on the decline. However, Streetify may be able to help businesses develop new markets, stay agile and keep afloat.

While Streetify was in the works long before Covid -19 hit, the pandemic has added new urgency for shops to find ways to keep customers buying when they can’t get out. In addition to providing the app free to consumers, it is providing retailers with free access to the platform for one year in the UK, US, Canada, India and Australia, and all store and restaurant advertising on the app is free to businesses throughout 2020.

 

Captured CO2 used to make hand sanitiser

Air Co sanitiser

Air Co is producing carbon-negative hand sanitiser 

Innovation: Air Co, a New York-based business that launched a carbon-negative vodka last year, is using the same approach to make hand sanitiser during the coronavirus outbreak. It captures CO2 pollution, combines it with water to make alcohol, and then distils the final product using solar-powered equipment.

Insight: We’ve seen several examples of alcohol producers shifting to the production of hand sanitiser in response to the coronavirus pandemic, but this is the first carbon-negative approach.

Air Co’s methods are unique, not only because of the environmental benefits of removing pollution from the air, but also because they save water, time and other agricultural-related expenditures.

The company aims to produce “goods that do good”, and so, in response to the current health crisis, is working with local officials to donate its bottles of hand sanitiser to the industries most in need of it.

 

Xiaomi live-streams 72-hour product launch

Xiaomi live stream

Xiaomi’s live-streamed product launch attracted 12 million viewers

Innovation: Chinese phone manufacturer Xiaomi collaborated with the video platform Bilibili on a 72-hour live-streamed launch event for its Mi 10 5G phone during the height of China’s coronavirus lockdown.

The event, dubbed ‘Life is Not Made for Defeat’, pulled in around 12 million viewers and 2.6 million comments on Bilibili’s trademark ‘bullet chat’ format, which streams user comments across the screen in real time.

Insight: While Covid-19 has caused disruptions for many planned product launches, Xiaomi decided to push ahead. Part of its success has to do with using a significant portion of the event focusing on the health crisis and attempting to take a positive approach.

The event featured a two-hour press conference with an emotional Lei Jun, Xiaomi’s founder, who in addition to unveiling the new phone and product giveaways, also shared uplifting user-generated content and educational material. It also helped that live-streaming is much more a part of everyday life in China than the rest of the world.

 

VR creates cloud fashion show

Lanvin VR fashion show

Lanvin collaborated with video platforms on a cloud fashion show 

Innovation: During Paris Fashion Week, Lanvin collaborated with video platforms Douyin, Yizhibo, iQiyi, and luxury etailer Secoo to create a cloud fashion show. The brand also invited fashion bloggers and Jiayi, a member of the boy band Unine, to live-stream the show’s behind-the-scenes action under the hashtag (#lanvinCloudBasedRunway), resulting in more than 5 million views.

Insight: The Covid-19 epidemic is truly testing a brand’s ability to respond, especially in the luxury industry. Beyond using this event to promote its new clothing, Lanvin’s latest handbags – which are inspired by everyday objects like takeaway boxes for cakes – peaked on Chinese social media, starting conversations and helping direct a younger audience to the brand.

Like Lanvin, the key for many designers has been to increase human interaction through harnessing technology. This creative spark to provide innovative ways of connecting with consumers is drastically pushing the development of live-streaming, VR and new social media tools in a way that will change approaches to marketing for the foreseeable future.

 

E.l.f. Cosmetics remixes TikTok video

Elf Cosmetics TikTok

The remixed E.l.f. Cosmetics song had more than 4.7 billion views 

Innovation: In partnership with Mobile Marketer, E.l.f. Cosmetics remixed the song ‘Eyes. Lips. Face’ – which appeared as a branded video on TikTok last autumn and was written by Grammy-Award-winning songwriter iLL Wayno – to ‘Eyes. Lips. Face. Safe’. In the new version, singer Holla FyeSixWun washes her hands and sings about social distancing.

Insight: This TikTok remix is just another example of the way advertising is reacting in innovative ways to the Covid-19 pandemic. The video had more than 4.7 billion views, and TikTok users are able to create their own remixes of the song, spreading the message even further among the young people who make up the vast majority of TikTok’s audience.

In February 2020, downloads of the app were almost double that of a year earlier, bringing the total number of users to 1.9 billion. The global reach available from the app is vast, especially as it is continuing to grow during this period of social isolation.

A positive video such as this will not only promote what customers really need to know about the coronavirus – to simply wash their hands and social-distance – but also generate a feeling of positivity around the brand itself, amid much scaremongering and negativity.