by Kevin Coupe
The Verge reports this morning that Zoom is lifting its usual 40-minute limit on free video chats this Thanksgiving, "to make it easier to spend time with friends and family virtually on the US holiday. Given spikes in COVID-19 cases nationwide and various new and existing restrictions on interstate travel, this year’s Thanksgiving will be an unprecedented affair likely involving a mix of in-person and virtual hangouts using videoconferencing software like Zoom."
This is a very savvy move by Zoom, which would like to be the default service for such conversations, whether for personal or business purposes.
But it also offers retailers that are marketing their fresh and prepared foods for the holidays an opportunity to use the moment to build their own relevance. Knowing that people may be spending a lot of time online this Thanksgiving - laptops may be welcome at the dining room table for the first time - retailers ought to be carving up their offerings into packages and segments that can be easily adapted to the moment … and maybe even offering the ability to send some products to the loved ones on the other end of the Zoom calls.
Just a thought. Call it a Zoom-portunity.
Could be an Eye-Opener.
