The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) currently reviews AR/VR devices via its Medical Extended Reality Program, a precursor to setting regulatory requirements for future devices and uses. In the following sections, we detail just a few examples of how healthcare is integrating AR, VR, and MR today. Virtual Reality in Healthcare.

Not only do brands risk offending people, given that humor is subjective, but marketers also have to worry about being labeled “cringey” for seemingly trying too hard or hopping on a trend too late in the game. “Many brands have tried to piggyback on an internet trend and fallen flat on their faces,” said Don Caldwell, editor-in-chief of internet culture database Know Your Meme.

“While ecommerce has been a growing trend, the COVID-19 push to all things ecommerce has accelerated the adoption curve, bringing a step-change across all demographics,” said Marcus Startzel, CEO of Whitebox, an ecommerce tech partner.

The retail industry is transforming at both physical stores and in digital. This report examines 10 trends that will most shape retail in the year ahead.

The creators represent a variety of interest areas, from fashion to food to technology, and they have follower counts ranging from tens of thousands to millions. And yes, they want to be known as creators, not influencers.

It's possible that this trend could extend to the other digital platforms if problems continue. Out-of-home (OOH) ad spending could see a negative impact due to social distancing and isolation measures. 

We saw this trend early on in our program and switched all of our on-site pop ups to capture phone numbers instead of emails.". According to Pence, the brand will keep leveraging SMS and adding incentives for SMS subscribers like early access, customized AI opportunities and a rewards program.

A January report by The NPD Group on 2020 trends said consumers “are even seeking deals in luxury industries, like prestige beauty—industries once considered immune to discounting.”. For that matter, consumers bring price-consciousness even to the life-and-death healthcare category, according to September 2019 polling by Salucro.

However, Unilever cut advertising at the height of the pandemic, shifting spend from ice cream (its core food category) to hygiene products. After evaluating spend on a weekly basis, the company now plans to make significant increases during H2. Interviews conducted for this report confirmed that some advertisers cut spend for essential products because demand was already outweighing supply.

Double posting the video gave the fast-food chain an opportunity to reach a larger audience on TikTok, beyond just its fans (e.g., if the video were to pop up in the feed of someone who didn’t already follow the brand), as well as its dedicated following on Instagram.

Not one to shy away from new channels and technology, the pizza giant teamed up with Amazon a few years back—as the smart speaker space was heating up—to launch an Alexa skill, giving consumers a way to order food without having to lift a finger.

Specialty food and alcohol should also have a banner holiday season. Fewer in-person gifting opportunities will spur demand for holiday gift baskets and mail-order wine and spirits. “Throughout the summer and early fall, it’s evident that demand is still elevated when compared with previous years,” said Zac Brandenberg, co-founder and CEO of DRINKS, a direct-to-consumer (D2C) wine retailer.

The coronavirus obviously changes this year-over-year growth, but it will not reverse the trend toward mobile video ads. To the contrary, OTT and mobile game growth may accelerate the shift to mobile video. The coronavirus will lead to sharp drops in year-over-year ad spending in Q2 and dampen growth in Q3 and Q4 (at best).

The company will have much lower total retail penetration of health/personal care/beauty (4.1%) and food/beverage (0.9%), but both are massive opportunities. Prime Day is a chance to boost strategic categories, or simply encourage customers to expand into more categories, through engagement with Prime.

Wendy’s: The fast-food chain, a VMLY&R client, used Twitch to get involved in the gaming space through organic marketing. VMLY&R created an avatar for Wendy’s in the video game “Fortnite,” then played as the character, destroying in-game food freezers in a nod to an ongoing campaign noting that the chain’s burger meat is never frozen.

“For example, there’s a growing trend in the industry to figure out how to price auto insurance on the basis of driver scoring.”. However, as more companies stake their claim on automotive data, it is leading to bigger questions about who it belongs to, who has rights to use it and what that will mean for customers.

One bad sign especially evident among lower-income consumers is the large number who have relied on charity to put food on the table. In Kaiser Family Foundation polling in May 2020, 27% of the under-$40,000s reported visiting a “food bank, food pantry, or charity for food” during the pandemic. The numbers were far smaller among the $40,000–$90,000s (at 6%) and those making more than $90,000 (2%).

Retail includes mail order/catalog, restaurants/fast food, drug stores, retail stores, cosmetics stores, and merchants of apparel, home furnishings/textiles, toys, pet food/supplies, appliances, jewelry and general merchandise.