This document discusses the responses of various online marketplaces and brands to the COVID-19 pandemic. It describes actions taken by Amazon, Drizzly, ASOS, Nykaa, Steam, Netflix, Uber, Upwork, Best Buy, and Airbnb to adapt operations and prioritize health and safety measures while continuing to serve customers during this difficult time. Key steps included enhanced cleaning, social distancing protocols, expanded essential goods offerings, and postponing or reducing non-essential services.

1. Top 10 Brands
Responding To
COVID-19

2. COVID-19 pandemic has been a
brutal year for so many businesses
(large and small). As lockdown
restrictions are easing up across
the globe, local/global brands
started resuming operations
adhering to the health & safety
guidelines.
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3. Let’s take a look at the top 10
marketplaces in different sectors and
how they are resuming (or planning
to resume) operations amid COVID-19.
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4. www.yo-kart.com

5. The eCommerce marketplace giant incurred over $600
million COVID-19 related costs in the first quarter
globally. This includes the procurement cost of
personal protective equipment (PPE), enhanced
cleaning facilities cost, and the drop in productivity
due to social distancing measures implemented.
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6. ● Amazon has waived off nearly half of the “Selling on Amazon
(SoA)” fees or referral fee till June 30. Also, the storage fee for all
products at its fulfillment center was suspended till April 30.
● From food/groceries to healthcare items, the retail giant
prioritized delivering high-priority products and canceled orders
containing lower priority items. Moreover, to reduce the impact of
these cancellations on seller partners, Amazon is refunding all
fulfillment and referral fees.
AMAZON’S COVID-19 RESPONSE
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7. Considered as the Amazon for liquor, Drizzly is an
alcohol eCommerce marketplace operating in over 100
markets across the US and Canada. Hit by the pandemic
and lockdown restrictions, Drizzly has partnered with
retailers to promote healthy delivery practices across
its network.
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8. ● For legal and safety reasons, deliveries must be made in-person to
a corporate/residential address. Drizzly encourages both customers
and the driver to designate a delivery spot outside the
house/building.
● While ID scanning is still mandatory before delivery, Drizzly is
encouraging drivers for contactless scanning (i.e. a customer will
simply hold the ID for a driver to scan).
● Working with retail partners to forego the need to sign a driver’s
device during delivery.
DRIZLY’S COVID-19 RESPONSE
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9. Amid the pandemic, ASOS – the online fashion and
cosmetics retail giant recorded a 25% drop in sales. It
also confirmed nine warehouse workers to be infected
with COVID-19.
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10. ● ASOS paused all deliveries and incoming shipments from suppliers
as well as third-party brands to make time for adjustments and
manage stock. The retailer continues to serve its customer
deliveries as usual offering an additional 10% discount through
its mobile app to lure customers.
● The retailer ended the agreement early with all employees on
fixed-term contracts citing the coronavirus crisis.
ASOS’S COVID-19 RESPONSE
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11. ● ASOS tested the augmented reality (AR) technology via its See My
Fit service at the start of this year to simulate real-life model
photography. The tool allowed shoppers to check how their
clothing selection will look on different body types. Scaling up
the AR technology, ASOS is now offering a simulated view of up to
500 products every week on six real-life models ensuring that the
product representation remains engaging and realistic.
ASOS’S COVID-19 RESPONSE
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12. An omnichannel lifestyle retailer Nykaa turned eight
in May amid the pandemic. While the physical stores
were shut, the retailer quickly converted its website to
sell only essentials and in turn recorded a turnover of
around 10-15% at the start.
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13. ● Amid lockdown restrictions in March, Nykaa started taking
pre-paid orders only for hand sanitizers, napkins, personal hygiene
products, and other essentials albeit with longer delivery
timelines.
● Considering the capacity constraints in the warehouse, Nykaa
wasn’t accepting orders below ₹ 1500 (or $19.91). This pushed the
average order value up by 30-40%.
NYKAA’S COVID-19 RESPONSE
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14. ● Being an inventory-led retailer Nykaa had large amounts of
inventory available in the physical stores shut amid the pandemic.
These stores became mini-warehouses as Nykaa smartly began
operating hyperlocal deliveries for essential products ( but only
from the stores). It took orders by phone as well and helped bring
down the supply chain cost to a great extent.
NYKAA’S COVID-19 RESPONSE
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15. A prominent online gaming marketplace, Steam enables
users to join groups, chat in-games, and do more. Initially
started as a digital content distribution channel by Valve,
Steam soon grew to a leading platform for thousands of
creators/publishers to sell games online and establish a
direct relationship with the community.
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16. ● With Steam setting new records for concurrent players amid
lockdowns, Valve confirms only games played within the last
three days will be updated immediately.
● To reduce bandwidth usage, Valve encourages gamers to uncheck
automatic updates for games they have in the library but no
longer play. Also, they can self-throttle their connection to steam
and ease the load on the network.
STEAM’S COVID-19 RESPONSE
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17. Amid stay-at-home orders, binge-watching boosted
Netflix profits by a significant margin. It generated a
net income of around $709 million with a revenue of
$5.88 billion up by nearly 28% from a year earlier.
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18. ● Netflix decided to cut its bit rate by 25%, streaming videos only
in standard definition across Europe, as requested by the EU
commissioner. This is the company’s statement:
“Following the discussions between Commissioner Thierry Breton and [Netflix chief
executive] Reed Hastings, and given the extraordinary challenges raised by the
coronavirus, Netflix has decided to begin reducing bit rates across all our streams
in Europe for 30 days,” the company said.
Source: BBC
NETFLIX’S COVID-19 RESPONSE
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19. From offering healthcare workers free rides and meals
to making masks mandatory for riders & drivers, the
ride-hailing marketplace giant is doing everything in
its power to scale operations and survive the darkest
hours.
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20. ● Uber now uses facial recognition tech to determine if drivers are
wearing masks. So, before starting a ride, uber drivers must take a
selfie and submit it within the app for verification. Even for
riders, the use of face-scanning technology is being considered by
Uber.
● Drivers must verify they are sanitizing the vehicle every day and
riders are prompted not to sit in the front seat of a vehicle.
● Both drivers and riders must abide by the new COVID-19 safety
guidelines i.e. regularly wash or sanitize hands and confirm they
do not have COVID-19 or any related symptoms.
UBER’S COVID-19 RESPONSE
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21. The top freelancing marketplace that unites talent from
over 180 countries, Upwork registered nearly 50% increase
in freelancer signups since the pandemic began. With a
third of all Fortune 500 companies such as Microsoft using
the platform, client spending has become stable on
Upwork.
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22. ● A $1 million grant program to support businesses working directly
towards mitigating coronavirus impact on communities and
economies.
● Partnered with Veem – global payments platform to enable
American clients and talents to apply for the SBA paycheck
protection program.
UPWORK’S COVID-19 RESPONSE
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23. ● With the announcement of faster payouts, Upwork has cut the
payment wait time in half for top-rated freelancers and agencies.
● Specific COVID-19 jobs feed connecting companies with key
projects (including critical coronavirus initiatives) to skilled
remote workers.
UPWORK’S COVID-19 RESPONSE
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24. Best Buy – the consumer electronics giant marketplace
reopened its stores in May with in-store consultation
for customers available by appointments at 200
locations. With its one-on-one service, the retail giant
ensured only a limited number of customers could be
inside the store at one time maintaining the social
distancing measures norms.
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25. ● A dedicated sales associate will greet customers at the door and
items/surfaces will be cleaned during the sales process.
● Staff must wear gloves/masks and sanitize the store area before
and after every appointment. Also, an employee app is available
for self health-checks daily.
● Sneeze guards at checkout stations, credit card terminals wiped
before/after every transaction, and many more changes to the
day-to-day approach as Best Buy reopens its stores.
BEST BUY’S COVID-19 RESPONSE
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26. Airbnb – the vacation rental online marketplace is gearing up to
resume operations and prepare for the future of travel with
enhanced cleaning initiative. It has developed the new
standardized protocol for cleaning and sanitization in the
home-sharing industry under the guidance of Dr. Vivek Murthy
(former US Surgeon) and other experts in hospitality and medical
hygiene.
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27. ● Learning and certification program to empower the host
community. Also, specific information on COVID-19 prevention
such as the use of personal protective equipment or disinfectants
approved by regulatory authorities will be shared.
● As hosts enroll for the program, guests can quickly identify and
book accommodations accordingly.
AIRBNB’S COVID-19 RESPONSE
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28. ● As per the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
recommendation, a 24-hour waiting period is essential before
entering the rental space.
● Also, if hosts are unable to commit to the cleaning protocol, they
can opt for a vacancy period called Booking Buffer. Here,
reservations are blocked for a time frame (currently set at 72
hours).
AIRBNB’S COVID-19 RESPONSE
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