Stefano Pardi, Head of Industry UK, Fashion and Luxury at Facebook

Around the world businesses are finding ways to put people first, and digital connection is more important than ever. We’ve seen an acceleration in mobile usage and across the Facebook Family of Apps and Services as people find new ways to stay connected. We’ve seen businesses transform their products and services to show up for their communities and customers in ways that are relevant and make a difference. People have been prioritising useful information from brands and our advice for creating brand resonance in 2020 has been to lead with empathy (empathise and work within the context and realities for the industry), stay authentic (the voice and role of your brand in people’s lives is what drew them to you in the first place - play to your strengths) and add value (by thinking about how your brand can give your community what they need - whether that is comfort, advocacy or entertainment).

People are turning to ecommerce more than ever before - in fact this is the most obvious behaviour change we are seeing, with shopping online being cited as the top activity all countries are saying they want to keep up. Consumers care about how brands respond to the crisis, with 2 in 3 people surveyed globally saying that the way a brand responds to the COVID-19 outbreak will impact their likelihood to buy from that brand in the future. Most consumers expect businesses to show up during the crisis and don’t expect brands to stay silent. Businesses can adapt in order to become truly resilient. Ways that businesses can adapt include:

• • Pivoting in the new marketplace
  • Adapting their customer experience
  • Managing personal brand

We have been forced to change our behaviours — and many of us now plan to keep up these new habits. During COVID, eComm has not just been a convenience but a lifeline for people. It took 10 years to increase internet sales by 13%. And this year, the same has been achieved in just 5 short months! With increasing eCommerce savviness comes heightened consumer expectations around transparency and control. The ways people shop and discover new products has never felt more exciting, personal and curated and luxury brands have an opportunity  to leverage digital channels to enhance their engagement with consumers

I'll be inspiring businesses to leverage the pivot from offline to online, to digitally transform, and to future proof in light of COVID-19, and helping businesses understand how they can ignite innovation during times of crisis.

The pace of digital commerce transformation seen in 2020 vs prior years and what this means for consumer expectations. The common themes of thriving luxury brands and where they get it right. How the Facebook solutions can help support brands in becoming even more data driven, customer-centric, and agile.