COVID-19 shifts are many, and for all of us swimming in this uncertain tide it has been, to say the least, interesting. Having now witnessed the changes in our world, our industries, our cultures and behaviors, I can confidently count on a few shifts to become a new reality vs a temporary phase.

Back to Cocooning?

I don’t think any of us have had to spend as much time in our homes as we have in the past year. Even the ones that were never into design started noticing elements in their homes that needed love. This gave room to a boost not only in home decor searches and purchases but also to home improvements and upgrades. 

Early in the pandemic, 60% of homeowners reported that they recently started a DIY home maintenance, replacement, repair, or remodeling project, and the share grew to almost 80% by early June 2020. Home design became bigger than ever, and home will continue to be a favorite place to socialize and spend time in - at least to get the ROI (return on investment).

“Design is going to be much more personal and in some ways technical, as people use their homes for work, school, and beyond,” says designer Christiane Lemieux. “Designers are going to have to be very conscious and thoughtful about how to make people’s lives better in the spaces they have.” 

Hybrid Dress Codes

If we were to work with the data we currently have in hand on how our lives seem to have shifted, we will subsequently have changed the way we dress. 

Scrolling through schizophrenic articles stating "loungewear is the new black" vs "revenge dressing" post COVID-19, I am sure that professional buyers everywhere are nervous and unsure what collections they need to have in stores! With workers returning to the office, it is anticipated that loose clothing made from breathable materials is coming back in fashion, and professionals have begun to realise that what they wear doesn’t affect the quality of their work.

Nowadays, there is clearly a new approach to dressing up for work. Casual and flexible wear was already on the rise before the pandemic hit, and while this doesn’t mean we will spend our lives in sweatpants it surely will give room for a hybrid wardrobe and pieces that go from home to office vs the office to night out we used to always look for.

Content Overdrive

Just like eCommerce took a new life of its own because of necessity to adapt to new ways of getting the basics, people have also spent so much more time online as a new way of getting entertained. 

While this is nothing new to the millennials, gen-z, and even my generation, the baby boomers were up against something new. With content and video becoming the no 1 means to raise awareness in any form regardless of conversion goals, brands personal or not had to adapt. Apps that were once limited to a specific audience, such as TikTok, became interesting to others, creating inter-generational bridges of communication.

Look at how many downloads per day for clubhouse (10M downloads in February 2021) and how it spread like wild fire. It gave access to anywhere at anytime and people are engaging with it, especially being home and on their screens constantly with conferences having lost some of their excitement.

Purpose & Values are Not Only for Show

Big topic here! Not only have I had to work like many of you on establishing purpose and values within the brands and companies I worked in, I have also seen every single company go through the same process. 

This became the new ‘Vision/Mission’ exercise of the new corporate era. The understanding of most that these things matter is refreshing. Question is: how can we prevent this from becoming a box-ticking exercise with beautiful words and gorgeous posters and videos?

You cannot escape from the fact that humanity wants a lot more. Now more than ever, we are separated from loved ones, we are compassionate about others, we've had time to think of our own existence. People are reflecting on their values and often making choices on brands and companies based on how close their values align with their personal ones.

Purpose on the other hand raises a much bigger topic, and it’s very important to understand what a brand purpose is NOT. Following years where capitalism and excessiveness ruled, asking some of the companies to rethink and express their purpose is often not a very easy or genuine task. It is either built on those foundations and core or it just isn’t and the exercise of driving the brand and company to believe in a newly expressed purpose becomes fake. The question is always to ask one self, does my team of leadership really believe that this is their purpose here? Does that trickle down within their teams and therefore to our customers and audience? If there is a doubt, it is worth a think.

Having said that, authenticity is something a customer and an employee both feel and demand. Taking time to challenge ourselves now more than ever is a question of winning or losing.

Wellness on Overdrive

I’ve been hearing that wellness is a ‘trend’ for years! It is only until I started becoming the target for what wellness offering can be, that I really started to see what’s out there... just like when I was trying to get pregnant all I saw were pregnant women, and when I was seeking mental and physically wellness all I saw around were gurus, shamans, programs and retreats. 

"If there is anything positive to take from the coronavirus pandemic, it is the impact it has had on approaches to health and wellbeing. Not only has it allowed many of us more time to practice healthy routines and habits, and has given us greater time to reflect on our health and lifestyle choices, causing many of us to make healthier decisions for the long term", says Dr. Arianna Di Stadio, co-founder of Hello Pure. 

I can’t imagine this trend is not here to stay. The wellness industry is not only a form of healing and spiritual offering but a push towards internal beauty reflection vs the external beauty trends that we are accustomed to. Moving forward, we will appreciate our skin and nutrition more than we will look for makeup and artificial solutions towards happiness.

Online Trading



I won’t lie to you, I’m still trying to figure this one out; but I definitely feel like I have to learn and understand this world ASAP! 

With cryptocurrency gaining value and some businesses starting to accept it as a payment option, I am realising this isn’t a fad. Moreover, NFTs seem to be in every conversation lately with most of us still trying to make sense of how to create one and to trade it. Every luxury brand is launching a digital product as an NFT, is that because its trending? What’s the hype? I will keep watching this space and will try to educate myself further.

As we move past the pandemic and adapt further into the new reality the world is living in, I am sure more and more shifts will find permanent places in our lives.