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The futureproofer’s roundup to industry & MARKETPLACE impacts attributable to coronavirus/COVID-19

“embrace UNCERTAINTY – some of the most BEAUTIFUL chapters of our lives won’t have a title until much later.”

― bob goff

The latest on what’s up, what’s down and what’s sideways but don’t blink

Massive stats global roundup on industry impact due to Covid-19 / Coronavirus (various sources) :

RETAIL SALES WINNERS
– Supermarkets +22% in sales
– Corner shops/convenience stores +30% in sales
NEW AD VISUALS
– Images of people washing hands in ads +6X
– Images/copy of sports/fitness and electronics in ads +3X
CONTENT & CHANNELS
– YouTube – +6.5-20X during crisis weeks in affected countries
– TV news + 69% in viewership

– Drama shows +35% in viewership
JOB HUNTING
– Job applications to grocery – 40X
SOCIAL ACTVITY
– Group calling +1000%
– Time spent of Facebook +70%
– Facebook & IG Live – 2X
CUSTOMER NEEDS FROM COMPANIES:
– People want companies to provide: flexible payment terms (83%), offering free services (81%), closing non-essential stores (79%) and helping to produce essential supplies (67%)
PESSIMISTIC CONCERN:
– Extreme concern for pandemic – the Philippines 67%
CUSTOMER?CITIZEN/TRAVELLER  APPROVALS:
– Approve of how employers/workplaces have handled – 54% (vs. 14% disapprove)
– Approve of how government has handled – 95% China, 50% USA, 14% Japan
– Approve of how airlines have handled – 70% (vs. 10% disapprove)
PANTRY LOADING
– Purchased extra food and drinks 46%
TIME SPENT:
– More streaming – 51% say yes
– More TV – 45% say yes
– More gaming – 36$ say yes
– More cooking – 41% say yes
– More calling – 25% say yees
SOCIAL MEDIA WANTS:
– Desire for Livestreams – 42% want more live concerts and 42% want more live sports
– Social media companies should be: screening news/facts 67%, helping neighbours communities connect 43%, airing live streams 30%
MANUFACTURING PIVOT:
– Brands should suspend factory production to produce essentials – 68% agree, 13% disagree
AD CONTINUANCES:
– Should ads continue in pandemic – 37% say yes/36% don”t know, 25% no
SOFTWARE SALES:
– Biggest software increases: Telemedicine (+616%), Web Conferencing (+445%), Video conferencing (+327%), Antivirus (+308%, Remote desktop (+308%)
ONLINE BEHAVIOUR
– Online Traffic – biggest risers – media (+34%), Finance (+29%), Food (+21%), Health care (+18%)
EXPECTED LENGTH OF IMPACT:
– Most popular answer – expected length of outbreak – 2-3 months (the more income/older you re – the longer the projection)
PURCHASE DELAY:
– Major purchases delayed until: Outbreak decreasing/over in my country (42%), Outbreak decreasing/over globally (20%),, don’t know/N?A (38%)
CASCADING IMPACTS (I do find it interesting how people believe somebody else will have a bigger issue than themselves personally) 
– Impacts on personal fiannces – 31% dramatic/big impact, 62% small/no impact
– Impacts on local economy – 73% dramatic/big impact, 20% small.no impact
– Impact on global economy – 85% dramatic/big impact, 10% small/no impact
MARKETING APPROACHES
– Marketing – 59% more reaching out to clients , 47% more email marketing, 25% less cold calling, 33% less direct mail
BIGGEST RETAIL LOSERS:
– Fashion -41%+ drop in sales
AD PROJECTIONS:
– Ad Revenue -10%+ drop expected
INTERACTION IS NO LONGER COOL?:
– Images of people interacting in social media  -27%
BRANDS THAT CROSSED OVER THE LINE:
– Boycott of brands based on COVID communication -1 in 10
PEOPLE DON’T SHOP – EVEN OFF TV:
– TV Shopping -65% reduction in viewership
EMPLOYMENT PESSIMISM:
– 18-24 year old concerns about long term unemployment – 7 in 10
CONCERN & PESSIMISTIC OUTLOOK:
– Extreme concerne for Pandemic – China 6% USA – 27%
– Level of Optimism – Japan 57% pessimistic (Vs. 14% USA)
SHOULD WE SHUT DOWN?:
– Approve of cancelling sports events – 78% (51% for workplaces)
– the whole population should be locked down – 79% Italy, 30% USA and 18% Singapore
ZOOM VIDEO CONFERENCING STOCK PRICE:
Up 87% year to date,vs. NASDAQ down 18%
CLOROX BLEACH/ANITBACTERIAL-DRIVEN STOCK PRICE:
UP 16% year to date vs. DOW drop of 28% 
SOCIAL DISTANCING:
– People who consciously avoided crowded places – 75%
INVENTORY STOCKOUTS:
– Biggest struggle to get – face masks (36%), anti-bacterial sanitizer (33%)
THE MISSING SPORTS FIX?:
– What should sports do – 14% held without crowds, 72% postponed until outbreak contained and 14% canceled altogether
BIGGEST ONLINE LOSERS:
– Online Traffic – biggest drops -travel (-46%), Construction (-18%), Advertising (-17%), Transport (-17%)
The message regardless of industry impact remains:
Stay safe, stay positive, stay nice to others socially distance and #flattenthecurve

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Sean Moffitt

Sean Moffitt

Co-Founder, Futureproofing : Next / MD - Wikibrands

Sean is a driving force behind F:N balancing out broad expertise in: business transformation & emerging tech, vision & strategy, brand & customer, talent & culture, and trends & applied innovation,  to help companies deliver “innovation you can take to the bank”

As a former Fortune 500 executive, CMO, incubator executive counsel  and four-time startup founder, Sean bridges large, scaling and startup culture & practices. He is a global thought leader in company innovation, author of Wikibrands and 16 marketplace studies. and has helped spearhead growth and transformation of over 200+ clients around the world.

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