Demand for most of the COVID-specific licensed products that came on the market early in the pandemic—masks, hand sanitizer, distancing signage, and the like—has declined, even as the crisis continues to drag on. And there have been few new COVID-driven licensing deals forged of late. That said, new developments in the ever-changing COVID landscape offer […]
Archive | COVID-19
Looking Beyond Face Coverings
Properties of all types have gotten into the face covering game in a big way since just after the start of the pandemic, with cloth masks, gaiters, balaclavas, and other protective facewear quickly becoming a standard category for licensing. Meanwhile, the pandemic has also given rise to other new opportunities related to avoiding the COVID-19 […]
An Extra Scary Halloween
Halloween, coming up this Saturday, is naturally forcing consumers, marketers, and retailers to adapt their approach for the COVID era. How will that impact sales of Halloween-related products? The National Retail Federation predicts overall spending for the holiday will fall 8%, from $8.8 billion in 2019 to $8 billion this year, although those who do […]
Experiences To Go
Organizers of location-based events are experimenting with new configurations to give their fans something of the original real-life experience in a safe way during the pandemic. Typically this has meant taking the event virtual in some form. But several marketers have gone the physical route recently, by boxing up real-life experiences and shipping them to […]
Resale Circles Back
When the pandemic first hit, many observers thought retailers’ resale initiatives, which offer quality second-hand and slightly imperfect apparel and home goods at a deeply discounted price and had been on the rise prior to the lockdown, would be placed on hold for safety reasons. Consumers, they thought, would potentially be concerned about the merchandise […]
Sportswear Brands Still Competing in Asian Esports
COVID-19 has had a big impact on global esports revenues. Newzoo predicted in July 2020 that revenues for the esports industry worldwide would increase by 1.7% this year, compared to growth of 23.3% year-on-year in 2019. Sales of esports merchandise and tickets—Newzoo tracks the two revenue streams as one segment of the total industry—will take […]
Sporting Goods Get a Workout
Consumers have been boosting their purchases of sporting goods and outdoors products during the pandemic, as they search for ways to exercise safely, look to break up their homebound routines with activities outside, and, in some cases, address their fears in a turbulent time. Total retail sales of sporting goods in June 2020 were up […]
The Rise of Anti-COVID Soft Goods
Since April, when it started to become evident that the coronavirus would likely stay around for a while, technology companies, fabric suppliers, and research institutions, as well as soft goods brands, began introducing anti-viral fabrics to repel SARS-CoV-2—the virus that causes COVID-19—for use in apparel and home textiles. Anti-viral, anti-microbial, and anti-fungal fabrics have been […]
Cannabis Deals Continue During COVID-19
The cannabis industry—encompassing both intoxicating THC-based and non-psychoactive CBD-based products—represents one area of the licensing business that has not seen much of a decline in new deals during the coronavirus crisis. In fact, the oft-touted benefits of cannabis-based products, both ingestible and topical, for stress reduction and general wellness are likely bigger selling points during […]
Pandemic Products with Partnership Potential
The COVID-19 crisis, for all the disruption and challenges it has brought to the licensing business, has also given rise to some wholly new opportunities. Face coverings are a notable example, of course, with the category going from zero to ubiquitous almost instantaneously. As the pandemic has worn on, additional brand-new categories are springing up […]