SOLON, OH, AUGUST 6, 2020 — As people return to public spaces, two issues loom large: guiding individuals safely around the interior, and reminding everyone to maintain a safe distance from each other. Wayfinding and zoning are simple ways to help people navigate your space, and flooring has long been a key component of the solution. Adding new visual cues beneath people’s feet helps coordinate their movement, reducing the likelihood of individuals coming into close contact. Tarkett, a worldwide leader in sustainable flooring, is offering a suite of solutions aimed at helping businesses address these challenges, while creating appealing spaces for people to work, play, learn and heal safely.

A number of preconfigured wayfinding solutions from Tarkett make specification easy, and may be customized to meet individual needs. Die-cut shapes are available through the company’s IMAGINATIONS^® program in a wide variety of materials from modular soft surface to heterogeneous sheet vinyl. Designs include 24” x 24” arrow or footprint tiles that can be easily dropped into an existing floor to integrate clear distancing markers. Modular 18” circles are another way to mark appropriate distancing, while larger 6-foot diameter circles help delineate individual workspaces or zones. Custom Powerbond^® area rugs offer yet another opportunity to add iconography and messaging onto the floor.

For LVT, 18”x18” tiles printed with “Stand Here” messaging are a simple and stylish way to integrate distancing markers into an existing space with the switch of a few tiles, whether a long- or short-term solution is needed. Also, arranging 6” x 36” LVT planks into arrow patterns is another easy way to provide subtle wayfinding.

“As the world begins to emerge, businesses, schools, healthcare facilities and retailers are working to balance the reopening of the economy with the continued health and well-being of their people. Returning to public space presents a set of unprecedented challenges, and flooring can play a crucial part in addressing them,” said Leslie Thompson, director, workplace segment strategy. “Tarkett’s Human-Conscious Design™ is our promise that we will put people first in everything we do. As the world gets back to business, Tarkett has the knowledge, products and services necessary to guide you through the next normal.”

For completely customizable solutions, Tarkett’s IMAGINATIONS^® Custom Floor Design program enables architects, designers and facilities personnel to create custom die-cuts for carpet, LVT, rubber or resilient sheet. These can include specific designs, messaging or imagery, which can then be fabricated and shipped directly to the jobsite.

Tarkett’s Collections Infinies™ program is another unique solution for creating custom, digitally printed LVT with wayfinding and zoning elements. The collection lets businesses either co-create a brand-new design or recolor an existing design to suit their brand or theme.

Facilitating social distancing may also require expanding or repurposing existing space. Tarkett offers a wide variety of flooring options designed for fast installation, immediate occupancy and easy cleaning and maintenance, while also contributing to healthy indoor environments. iQ^® Optima^® sheet vinyl, for example, retains its superior wear, stain and abrasion resistance with just an occasional dry buff. No wax or finish is needed for the life of the product, and maintenance requires only a damp mop with a neutral cleaner. The series has earned the asthma & allergy friendly^® certification from the Asthma & Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA). Tarkett also offers a number of innovative, safe adhesives, including RollSmart™, which dramatically reduce the time needed for installation and curing. Installers are able to get in and out of buildings faster, lowering potential health risks and letting building employees get back to work more quickly.

For more information about Tarkett and the company’s comprehensive range of flooring solutions and accessories, visit www.tarkettna.com

August 5, 2020

August 7 is International Beer Day. To help celebrate, SkipTheDishes, Canada’s largest food delivery service, has taken stock of ordering trends across the country since COVID-19 began. 

Across Canada, Skip has seen a 377% increase in average beer orders per day as more Canadians used delivery to support social distancing!

Manitoba stats:

• M.B. ordered the third most beers (13.1%) out of the Canadian provinces
• M.B. saw a 73% increase in beer orders on Canada Day
• M.B.’s largest beer order was 192 cans/bottles, the largest in the country!
• M.B. prefers light beer the most with 19.7% of beer ordered being light

General beer ordering stats:

• On Canada Day, Skip saw a 217% spike in beer orders across Canada
• Over 350,000 beers were ordered since June 2020
• This year, Canadians have ordered the equivalent of over 10,000 kegs of beer
• Skip customers prefer a Lager more than Ales, Stouts or Malts
• The most popular time of the day to order beer was at 6:00 PM (11.5%)
• The most popular day of the week to order beer was on Saturdays (18.9%)
• Budweiser was the most popular beer brand ordered in every province (24.3%)
• If humans ran on beer instead of blood, Canadians have ordered enough beer to fuel 100,000 humans in 2020

Skip users have certainly been taking advantage of beer delivery throughout the pandemic to have their favourite beers delivered right to their front door. And in true Canadian fashion, even when it comes to beer, Skip customers like to support local: 60% say that a brewery being local impacts their purchasing decision.

July 27, 2020

The COVID–19 crisis upended our daily lives at a dizzying speed and the resulting global lockdown has dramatically affected consumer behaviour. Restaurants, hotels, casinos, and sporting venues have stood empty for months, as Canada’s hospitality sector has been one of the hardest hit by the coronavirus.

Launched today, Deloitte’s report, called The future of hospitality, explores how the Canadian hospitality sector will have to reinvent and adapt to survive with safety as the number one priority for Canadian consumers, who are seeking a stress-free experience and consistency in health and safety protocols.

Deloitte has recognized four key consumer driven trends, which will reshape the hospitality sector now during stages of the reopening of the economy and for the post-pandemic world.

Trust will be essential

Canadians will remember the companies that paid attention and took care of them. Businesses must be transparent and communicate the steps taken to keep customers and employees safe and demonstrate how they’re living up to those commitments at every point of interaction. The COVID-19 crisis has seen rapid acceleration of technology, offering a launch pad for hospitality businesses to embrace and offer digital technologies to their customers. With only one in three (34 percent) Canadians feeling safe going to a restaurant, the importance of technology such as self-check-ins, app-based services, and augmented or virtual reality is vital for survival.

Reimagine and reinvent the customer experience

Having a pulse on consumers’ changing behaviours will be crucial for the hospitality sector’s ability to uncover opportunities to recover and thrive. With merely 15 percent of Canadian consumers saying they feel safe attending in-person events and only about 3 in 10 (29 percent) feeling safe staying in a hotel, consumers expect more from the sector and are unwilling to make sacrifices when it comes to health and safety. Hotels must reinvent in order to own the staycation space and rebuild the sector by targeting close-to-home tourists.

Re-evaluating the priority list

The COVID-19 crisis seems to have prompted Canadian consumers to re-evaluate their overall spending priorities, with pre-pandemic must-haves now seen as nice-to-haves—at best. According to Deloitte’s State of the Consumer Tracker, over the next four weeks Canadian consumers expect to spend about half (51 percent) as much on travel, 15 percent less on restaurants and takeout, and 14 percent less on entertainment compared to the previous four weeks.

A recovery like no other

Hospitality businesses will need to manage the operational realities of the new normal by investing in technology, building a more agile workforce and identifying new sources of supply for the products or services their customers rely on. From smart phone apps and non-invasive thermal scanning tools to promote safety and alleviate operational burdens – technology will play a pivotal role in the survival of the hospitality sector in adapting to consumer behaviour changes and demands.

Today,SkipTheDishes has taken the next step in its brand journey with a full rebrand, updating their colour from red to vibrant orange, giving a fresh new look to all aspects of their brand.

The new look has been launched across Skip’s website and social channels, and users can update their app this morning to see what they’ve been working on. To kick things off, Canada’s most popular food delivery app will be turning everything orange in an ad campaign to showcase the evolution of its brand. In the coming months, the rebrand will splash across courier bags and at partnered restaurants throughout Canada.

With an evolved look and feel, Skip still offers the same great delivery. Skip is excited to bring the benefits of being part of a leading global online food delivery marketplace under Just Eat Takeaway.com to local restaurants, customers, and couriers across the country.