Concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic saw consumers switch normal buying patterns and hoarding certain products.
We’ve all seen the empty shelves that used to stock rolls and rolls of toilet paper. Somewhere down the road, as consumers use their stashes of toilet paper, sales of the product will be crappy.
Virus concerns have spurred online sales and driven up sales of some products according to an infographic by Katie Jones of Visual Capitalist.
E-commerce sales of disposable gloves are up 670 per cent. An unlikely candidate for increased sales — bread machines — rose 652 per cent in sales. And yeast to make bread is disappearing from store shelves too.
Cough medicine sales rocketed 535 per cent.
Among food products, soup sales steamed up 397 per cent; rice and dried grains are up 386 per cent; packaged foods shook up 377 per cent; fruit cups are up 326 per cent with milk or cream up 299 per cent.
Deprived gym users pushed up sales of weights 307 per cent and fitness goods sales went up 170 per cent.
Dishwashing supply sales sudsed up 275 per cent while toilet paper wrapped up 190 per cent.
Vitamin sales were boosted 166 per cent, just ahead of the 159 per cent in pet food sales.
Tenth on the list was a 99 per cent increase in pain relievers.
Top ten fastest declining online sales categories were led by a 77 per cent decline in luggage, 77 per cent in briefcases, 64 per cent in cameras, 64 per cent in men’s swimwear.
Already declining online apparel sales fell even further. Bridal wear dropped 63 per cent; men’s formal wear lost 62 per cent and women’s swimwear fell 59 per cent.
Rash guard sales dropped 59 per cent, same as boys’ athletic shoes.
The comparisons are with March 2019.
Ron Walter can be reached at ronjoy@sasktel.net
