1. The shelter-at-home era poses a fundamental challenge to fashion: That term “discretionary” is key. Clothing may be a basic necessity, but our purchases of it are largely detached from need. The pandemic quickly revealed where it ranks on shoppers’ list of priorities. Clothing sales dropped, while furniture and home improvement products saw sales jump. – Read More on Quartz
2. How 2020 killed the Instagram brand: Pastels and the ubiquitous Sans Serif font have been replaced by bright colors and oversized lettering, while startups are centering their social media centering their social media strategy around busting taboos or reaching customers that have historically been overlooked. – Read More on Modern Retail
3. The 10 biggest retail bankruptcies of 2020: More than three dozen retailers, including the nation’s oldest department store chain, filed for bankruptcy this year, marking an 11-year high. Pre-pandemic, several of these retailers were already teetering on the brink of survival. But the Covid health crisis pummeled the industry. – Read More on CNBC
4. Stars align for luxury circular economy: Before the pandemic, second-hand luxury goods sales were already growing three times faster than the primary market and were expected to double to 41 billion euros between 2018 and 2023, says UBS. But the potential stock of goods is much larger. – Read More on Reuters
5. Rare Small-Business Win in Insurer Lawsuits Keeps Hope Alive for Payouts: In hundreds of lawsuits across the country, mostly small businesses have sued their property-insurance companies for refusing to pay out “business interruption” claims tied to the pandemic. Many insurers say their policies contain clear language excluding virus-related claims, while most claims also haven’t met their policies’ criteria. – Read More on the WSJ
6. German-based Mytheresa joins growing list of e-commerce retailers going public: In fiscal 2020, Mytheresa surpassed 486,000 active users, with €449.5 million in net sales (US$550.7 million) shipped across 133 countries. Average order value in fiscal 2020 was €600 (about $735), down from €614 in 2019 and €632 in 2018. – Read More on Market Watch