Face Masks Become a Wardrobe Essential

For some organizations, Covid-19 has taken a severe toll on the future, making them question how they remain alive and relevant during the pandemic. For others, the pandemic is one of the reasons they are thriving.

This month, the National Retail Federation issued the following statement encouraging all retailers to adopt a nationwide policy that requires customers to wear face coverings or masks to protect the health and well-being of customers, associates, and partners during the coronavirus pandemic: “The health and safety of associates and customers [are] retailers' number one priority and wearing a face covering or mask is scientifically proven to reduce the spread of Covid-19.” NRF applauds the leadership of companies like Walmart, Kroger, Starbucks, Aldi, BJ’s Wholesale Club, Apple, Qurate Retail Group, Costco, and others that have implemented nationwide mask mandates.

Last Tuesday, Best Buy announced that it will require all customers to wear masks, joining the likes of Kohl’s and other major brands that have instituted mask mandates for customers and employees last week as the number of Covid-19 cases continues to surge across the nation.

With NRF, CDC requirements, and state/local orders recommending or even requiring that everyone wear masks outside of their homes, businesses have an unexpected yet significant marketing opportunity to present their brand in a new setting. Something that brick-and-mortar stores may never have anticipated – face masks and social-distance-conscious shopping – are now on the rise. This is particularly true for certain businesses, such as consumer-facing retail stores, restaurants/bars, and sports teams. Companies specializing in branded t-shirts, uniforms, have certainly expanded their offerings to include branded face masks.

As a result, many businesses are seeing the increase in face mask use as another chance to present their logo, brand, or message to the public. Fashion designers are also pivoting to make fashionable coronavirus masks to answer the increasing demand for this new wardrobe essential. By transitioning to making face masks, some owners are finding a way to keep their businesses going while also serving a great public need and giving back to the community. Unlike disposable masks, cloth masks are sustainable, machine-washable, and worth making fashionable. In addition, almost every brand has taken a stance on and made donations to healthcare and other essential workers.

Here’s a list of brands making masks while giving back, including, Everlane, Citizens of Humanity, Reebok, Athleta, Reformation, Gap, and many others. Even hundreds of Etsy sellers have joined the effort; a win-win for “non-essential” businesses who face an uncertain future. One startup, MaskClub.com, even offers a monthly subscription service that launched in early April for cloth face masks featuring a few thousand licensed designs such as Betty Boop, NASA, and images from iconic TV hits like Beverly Hills 90210.

There’s no doubt the Covid-19 pandemic has also suddenly accelerated the need for organizations to transform their digital brand experience and respond to change in customer behavior. As a different shopping landscape takes shape, longer-term digital strategies are being re-assessed and re-prioritized. Now, more than ever, stores need to increase their digital footprint to remain relevant and capture the increasing online demand or risk losing it to their competitors. Covid-19 has forced retailers to invest more money into new technologies and implement them much quicker than anticipated.

The coronavirus accelerated ecommerce's growth trends significantly: “U.S. ecommerce penetration jumped to more than 25 percent in April 2020 from 15 percent at year-end 2019, pulling forward several years of adoption,” according to a June 2020 report from Prologis Research, which also estimated that ecommerce would reach a “penetration of nearly 20 percent for 2020 as a whole vs. a pre-pandemic forecast of 16.9 percent.”

Going forward, the businesses that rationalize inaction when it comes to transforming their businesses into fully-featured digital stores will likely be left further behind. Once the coronavirus is a thing of the past, the investments retailers make in their digital experiences will pay off. Companies that become better at engaging and communicating with customers will benefit long-term.