The COVID-19 pandemic, as the ongoing coronavirus disease is significantly impacting businesses and the economy. It is curious to see how retailers have the flexibility to be nimble, to monitor, and to adapt to the current environment and fast-changing consumer behavior that has shifted toward digital channels, products, and services across categories, but that shift has not come close to offsetting the overall reduction in spending.
VTC and InnoEdge conducted surveys to understand the change of consumers’ behavior and the readiness of Hong Kong retail industry amid COVID-19. Based on the key findings of the surveys, InnoEdge Design Thinking team conducted a half-day Hackathon for selected VTC IVE students of Business Discipline on 27 March, 2021.
The Hackathon was led by Mr. David Chung, Ms. Flora Chan, Mr. Jimmy Wan, Ms. Tiffany Liu, Ms. Yvonne Chan, Mr. Simon Lee and moderated by Ms. Kristie Yeung.
The judge panel of the Hackathon was formed by five well-known business leaders from different business and academic sectors.
Dr. Wallace Lam, Academic Director, Business Discipline, IVE (Head Judge)
Mr. Watson Chan, Deputy CEO (Policy & Business Development), The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce
Ms. Katherine Yu, Senior Manager, Communications & Public Relations, Hong Kong Retail Management Association
Mr. Vincent So, Chairman, Hong Kong Retail Technology Industry Association
Mr. Inno Man, Senior Partner, InnoEdge Consulting
The challenge of the Hackathon is “How might we help Apparel (or Footwear) Retail Stores to enhance their business performance in the Post COVID-19 era”. The budget of the solution should not more than HK$300,000 and expected implementation date should be on or before the end of Q3, 2021.
