As restrictions loosen and retail stores continue to reopen, the King of Prussia Mall, located just outside Philadelphia and the second largest mall in the U.S., has a small surprise for shoppers: The official COVID-19 shop, home to an assortment of masks, mask spray (we just learned this was a thing) and other PPE items. Seems pretty normal for 2020, right? Well, what really caught our attention was not only the store name—COVID-19 Inc.—but also the slogan: “Put us out of business. Buy our masks!”
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2020 has been a year, and honestly we’re surprised this is the first COVID-19 themed store we’re seeing pop up. Philly Magazine reported on the retail store a couple of days ago, and it really sparked our interested as to what a COVID-19 store might include. The masks we expected, but the mask spray and other PPE items were definitely interesting.
Of course, these aren’t just plain masks being sold in the store, there’s a little something for everyone. There’s a mask with red spikes, one with a zipper near the mouth opening, a hoodie with a built-in mask attached and even an air conditioned mask that features a legit cooling fan.
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There are customization options that lets shoppers add patches or crystals to a mask. According to Fox29, there’s also a particular piece that we haven’t seen around the promo industry, called a “makeup saver.” Essentially, this is an insert you add to a mask that creates a barrier between your face and the mask to prevent makeup from smearing. It also helps you breathe better.
Aside from these items, the store has mask spray, which looks like it comes in two scents: lavender and mint. “And you know what your mask smells like 30 minutes after you scarf down a Wawa Shorti? Well, the COVID store has solved this problem for you,” noted Philadelphia Magazine, referring to our regional cuisine.
We could potentially see these kinds of items popping up in the promo industry. Patches are already a popular promo item, so why not start to offer ones designed for masks? It’s certainly something to think about.
