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TOP NEWS
Curbside Pickup, Local Delivery and Other New Retail Strategies
TGA
As parts of the country explore opening up, local delivery and curbside pickup will become part of the new retail lexicon. Explore this Stand Up 4 Retail webinar about best practices around this new normal, and find other COVID-19 news and resources at TGA’s COVID-19 News and Resources web page. It’s an ever-shifting landscape, and now more than ever it pays to stay informed.
TGA Urges Congress to Not Tax PPP Relief
TGA
On May 7, TGA joined more than 150 other organizations in urging Congress to ensure that Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) relief is not subject to income tax.
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Trump ‘Not Interested’ in Reopening U.S.-China Trade Deal After Report of Beijing Discontent
REUTERS
President Donald Trump said on Monday he opposed renegotiating the U.S.-China “Phase 1” trade deal after a Chinese state-run newspaper reported some government advisers in Beijing were urging fresh talks and possibly invalidating the agreement. Trump, who himself has considered abandoning the pact signed in January, told a White House press briefing he wanted to see if Beijing lived up to the deal to massively increase purchases of U.S. goods. READ MORE
45% of Apparel Buyers Working with Suppliers to Cut Costs
SUPPLY CHAIN DIVE
Most apparel sourcing organizations are taking a mixed approach to the demand shock dealt by the coronavirus pandemic, reducing order frequency and size and in some cases canceling orders of finished goods, according to a McKinsey report released last week. In a survey of 116 apparel sourcing executives administered by the consultancy, 49% of respondents said they had canceled less than 25% of upcoming orders and 22% said they had canceled none. READ MORE
Getting Back to Business Post COVID-19
RETAIL CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
In this week’s HP-sponsored podcast on how COVID-19 is impacting the retail segment, Retail Customer Experience contributing podcast host Bradley Cooper shares how retailers are slowly gearing up to get back to business and expert insight on why customer loyalty is now more important than ever. READ MORE
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Refunds or Credits? Travelers and Businesses Face Off
THE NEW YORK TIMES
Travel screeched to a halt because of the coronavirus pandemic, and millions of would-be travelers are demanding refunds for canceled trips and now-unreachable destinations. But even while pressured by that sentiment, some independent businesses, from tour operators to hotel owners, are offering credits. Credits, they feel, are a fair way to roll forward trip prepayments and deposits, which under normal circumstances might be nonrefundable. And rebooking guests for the future means cash flow now, the only way to survive the period of dormancy. READ MORE
How Coronavirus Could Burst the Social Media Influencer Industry
THE HILL
Imagine becoming rich without showing up at an office or answering to a boss. You have no commute except for occasional paid flights to some of the most exotic locations on the planet for photos in the sun. Think about staying home and receiving shipments of designer clothes and jewelry to promote online. It may sound like a dream to you, but for a huge number of young adults who make money as influencers, this is their own reality. But this $8 billion social media influencer industry is probably a bubble, and the coronavirus may finally burst it. READ MORE
Two-Week Quarantine: Summer Vacations with Strings Attached
CNN
As restrictions around the world begin to ease and as economies slowly reopen, hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions prepare once again to welcome international travelers. However, it’s definitely not business as usual. Australia and New Zealand were among the first nations to introduce self-isolation measures for people (both nationals and foreign visitors) entering their countries. READ MORE
Consumers Lead Industry Transformation
THE ROBIN REPORT
People are coping with their “new normal,” and their purchase behavior reflects this. When comparing March 2020 to March 2019, there has been a 397% increase in soup, 377% on packaged foods and 190% on toilet paper sales. In contrast, travel, resort wear, and event supplies have seen double-digit declines ranging from 30% to 77%. Shoppers are demonstrating that their new priorities have shifted given the uncertain climate and even brand names are less critical when making a purchase. READ MORE
DOT Again Warns Airlines Over Ticket Refunds After ‘Unprecedented’ Surge in Complaints During Pandemic
CNBC
The Department of Transportation said Tuesday that it has received thousands more complaints over airline refunds than usual during the coronavirus pandemic and issued another warning to carriers who skirt their obligations to customers. “The Department has received an unprecedented volume of complaints from passengers and is examining this issue closely to ensure that airlines’ policies and practices conform to DOT’s refund rules,” Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said in a news release. READ MORE
COVID-19: How Leaders Can Create a New and Better Normal
WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, organizations around the globe have demonstrated remarkable agility, changing business models literally overnight: setting up remote-work arrangements; offshoring entire business processes to less-affected geographies; initiating multi-company cooperation to redeploy furloughed employees across sectors. In each situation, the urgency for results prevailed over traditional bureaucratic responses. READ MORE
3 Baltic States Announced a ‘Travel Bubble.’ What is It and Could It Work in the U.S.?
THE NEW YORK TIMES
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania plan to open their internal borders for citizens to travel between the three countries beginning on May 15, a decision that creates the first “travel bubble” among European Union countries as coronavirus-related travel restrictions begin to ease. READ MORE
10% of Retail Demand Might Be Lost Forever
CNBC
The coronavirus pandemic is sure to leave many lasting effects on the retail industry, including bankruptcies, store closures and layoffs. It could also mean a healthy fraction of consumer demand for clothes and shoes is lost forever, according to one analyst. Five percent to 10% of pre-COVID-19 demand could be decimated permanently, as “lost store volume can’t entirely be made up online,” Wells Fargo retail analyst Ike Boruchow said in a note to clients yesterday. READ MORE
TRENDING ARTICLES
Missed last week’s issue? See which articles your colleagues read most.
- Experts Predict How Coronavirus Will Change the Way We Travel (HUFFPOST)
- 5 Charts Show Which Travel Sectors Were Worst Hit by the Coronavirus (CNBC)
- Travel Insights and Tips for Your Post-COVID-19 Shutdown Summer Travel (FOX 5)
- China’s Factories Are Back. Its Consumers Aren’t (THE NEW YORK TIMES)
- These Countries Are Opening Back Up – and Cautiously Preparing for Domestic Travel (CONDÉ NAST TRAVELER)