Could an Apple face mask solve the challenge of customer service in retail?

Apple face mask clear mask unboxing

Trust Apple to come up with one of the biggest design solutions of our age.

The customer service Covid mask.

To be, er, clear, the Clear Mask (above) isn’t actually made by Apple but it has been commissioned to be used in its stores so that public-facing sales staff can better communicate with customers.

Clear Mask masks are already used by health services (the NHS has just ordered 250,000) but I haven’t seen any in other public spaces. Apple does actually have its very own (and very chic) face masks for internal staff use, which come in typical Apple minimalist packaging. (Below – as I said, tres chic, although maybe a tad excessive in these mindful-of-waste times.)



Apple reusable face mask

According to Bloomberg, the Apple employee mask was developed by the engineering and industrial design teams (aka the people who create the devices). It’s made up of three layers and is designed to be washed and reused as many as five times. UPDATE: more deets here*.

Maybe Apple can find a way to make a beautiful version of the Clear Mask that would make people really want to wear one. Surely that could be the game-changer and one that could be also adopted by many other relevant industries. Fashion and beauty retail for starters…

TLDR: customer service and safety are going to become more important than ever in physical retail. As innovators in customer service, it makes sense that Apple leads post-Covid retail with design-led solutions that serve and reassure its customers.

Meanwhile… as expected, skincare brands have found a way to impregnate Covid masks with anti-bacterial benefits to combat ‘Maskne‘ (aka mask acne). Dr Barbara Sturm’s £30 Nano-Silver Mask contains silver, which apparently has antibacterial and antifungal properties. The mask can also be bought in a ‘maskne’ set with Sturm’s Anti-Pollution Drops, Calming Serum, Clarifying Spot treatment and sachet of Clarifying Mask.

*if you can get through the horrendous user experience of ads interrupting the article

WORDS: Disneyrollergirl/Navaz Batliwalla
IMAGES: Clear Mask by Unbox Therapy; Apple face mask by Mark Gurman
NOTE: Most images are digitally enhanced. Some posts use affiliate links and PR samples. Please read my privacy and cookies policy here

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