More on the Effects of COVID

It is obvious that the COVID lockdown has had and will continue to have a major effect on the use of traditional office space. Last month the Newsletter raised the cybersecurity and privacy issues raised by having staff working from home, however, if you can solve those challenges, the new normal may be far fewer traditional offices. A study of startups by TechCrunch has found that 10% have closed their offices permanently and 63% of those surveyed said they were not planning to reopen their offices for up to 6 months — even if the government advises that it is safe to do so before then. A majority of those surveyed said they would move to either a flexible remote working model (some with permanent offices, some without), but only a small number plan a “normal” return to work. A very small number plan to go fully “remote.” Many cited the continuing benefits of face-to-face interaction when trying to build the team culture so crucial with early-stage companies. The full survey results can be found here.

Other COVID related news – Facebook and Instagram to introduce alerts in news feeds to remind users to wear face coverings. Netflix added 10.1 million subscribers in the 3 months to June, bringing its paid subscriber base to 193 million. Shares in the streaming company have risen by 62% since the start of the year. Also, more brands have joined the Walmart marketplace than ever before. The partnership with Shopify announced on 15 June, may explain why more than 1,100 new sellers joined the Walmart marketplace.