Retail Foot Traffic Increases and Brands Get Involved in Social Justice

This week, we’re talking about a return to retail foot traffic in some states that have reopened businesses after pandemic shut-downs, and we’re talking about the racial justice movement, including anti-racism educational resources to stream, how brands are responding to the movement and what comes next for businesses wanting to promote diversity and inclusion.

Foot traffic to stores is returning in some states. Georgia, which was the first state to reopen on April 24, showed the highest gains of any reopened state, with 52.3% of its normal retail foot traffic, according to research from software platform Zenreach. Arizona, Texas and Florida also showed increasingly strong foot traffic as states balance reopening retail businesses with public health concerns. (Adweek)

Brand responses to the racial justice movement. As the Ad Age staff notes, brands and agencies often are silent on social justice issues, but now, many are speaking out. See what PayPal, Nascar, Reddit, Nike and others are doing to speak out and give back to racial justice causes. (Ad Age)

How will businesses promote social justice in the long-term? There’s an appetite for businesses to take actionable steps on promoting diversity and inclusion. With that in mind, the WSJ’s Sahil Patel takes a closer look at what comes next, after the initial outpouring of donations, social media posts and supportive ad campaigns. Doug Rozen, chief media officer of 360i says that beyond corporate social responsibility and diversity commitments, “brands need to be more proactive in the diversity conversation and not just reactive.” (The WSJ)

Anti-racism streaming resources. Vanity Fair rounded up a few movies and documentaries including “Just Mercy” and “I Am Not Your Negro,” available to stream free of charge. See the list here, and see a list of what Netflix has available in its Black Lives Matter collection here.

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