In mid-March, something happened that had never happened before in the history of the human race. The whole world fell into a kind of hiatus. Within just a few weeks normal life changed completely and we started fighting an invisible enemy which led to worldwide quarantine. It has had such a great and far-reaching impact on every industry in the world, probably like no other event in history, not even a world war.
And as it looks like now, 6 months into the pandemic, many things will not even return to the state they were in before the coronavirus pandemic. This certainly has some positive sides and many negative ones, but we will not start today an analysis of what is positive and what is negative. Nevertheless, we will analyze shopping trends during the coronavirus pandemic that have changed significantly compared to last year.
1. Online shopping
For many years, buying and selling online has been very popular and many use it. But brick and mortar stores retained a significant advantage and had an impact on over 80% of a company’s revenue. As quarantine began, brick and mortar stores were no longer available or had very limited opening hours, so online shops became primary. And it didn’t just apply to clothes or cosmetics for example, but to just about everything, including food.
This trend started during the pandemic and will continue when the vaccine is found, and this whole situation is behind us. The best indicator of this is that some of the world’s largest retail companies such as Zara, owned by one of the richest people in the world, Amancio Ortega, have announced the closure of a large number of brick and mortar stores they have all over the world. Their goal is to focus on online retail, as they have seen great sales growth during the pandemic, and at a lower cost. Companies like Amazon, which since its inception have focused only on the online business environment, have made even more profits.
2. Promotions and offers
Billions of people lost money or were unable to make money because of a situation that affected every country equally. The tourism sector is especially endangered, but so is everyone else, because of the global village that is present, it is a matter of a chain reaction. That is why all non-essential businesses have realized that only through promotions and offers can they survive during these difficult times.
You could find more promotions than ever because everyone was racing to offer a bigger discount. This has led people to base their decisions on where they can save more because they have run out of income or income has been significantly reduced. Time will tell us whether this is a trend that will remain or disappear when people start making money again as before.
3. Popular product categories
Certain product categories have become incomparably more popular, and others have lost in popularity, all dictated by the current situation. These are the products that have gained the most popularity:
-Gaming equipment
People were constantly spending time inside their home, often alone and then they had to find some entertainment that could entertain them for days and weeks. That’s why sales of gaming equipment have jumped so much, by as much as 500 percent. That included gaming consoles and everything else.
-Sex dolls and toys
All sex-related products have also seen a huge increase in sales. Couples had much more time to spend together, so this also gave them time to experiment in sex using various sex toys, sex companions, dildos, etc. And for all those singles, this was not a good year, because they did not have the opportunity to meet potential partners.
Due to social isolation, it was not possible to find a person for one night stand, and not something more. That’s why all the manufacturers and sellers of sex dolls said they had so many orders that they barely managed to have a full stock. When we look at sexyrealsexdolls.com and see the diversity of the sex dolls offered, it is clear that everyone can find something for themselves during the isolation.
Moreover, sex robots, sexbots, love dolls and other products of the adult industry have been looked after.
-Exercise equipment
Because gyms did not work, and team sports were not allowed, people bought exercise equipment so that they could stay in shape at home. Purchase of home exercise equipment has grown by almost 700 percent in certain countries.
4. Larger, but less frequent shopping
Precisely because of the shortened working hours of stores and social distance, a trend has been noticed that people go shopping less often, but then buy more things than before. Although online stores are open 24/7 and there is no fear of too close social contact, the same trend has been observed here as well.
The most probable reasons are that people did not want to make a lot of small orders and then wait a long time for delivery, because the delivery companies were overloaded. Also in this way they saved on shipping costs, because instead of paying it several times in a short period of time, they paid only once. And shipping is often free when more items are purchased.
5. Different payment methods
The coronavirus pandemic has significantly accelerated the transition to a cashless society. Prior to the pandemic, citizens of only a few countries in the world, such as the citizens of Sweden, used card payments rather than cash. Due to the growing popularity of online shopping, as well as due to the fear that a person can become infected by contact with cash, over 70 percent of people switched from paying cash to paying by card. It is definitely a better method and people will continue to use less and less cash.
Conclusion:
Many experts think that the coronavirus pandemic has not really changed anything significantly when it comes to shopping, but has only accelerated certain things. According to them, online shopping and other shopping trends we talked about in this article is certainly something that was expected to happen in the next 10 years, only this unforeseen circumstance has abruptly changed the whole landscape. In any case, it is up to us to make the most of what is being offered.
