In our article, we have found out what is most often bought from home in a self-insulated environment and what conclusions can be drawn from this data.

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Spring 2020 turned out to be similar to blockbuster footage for most people. The words “self-isolation”, “quarantine”, “pandemic” became every day, and many aspects of everyday life, such as parties with friends, going to concerts, and sports, began to go online. A special niche was occupied by online trading, which became both a means of survival and entertainment. We have studied the online basket and found out how long parcels go to them and that the couriers in them take.

Shift in Online Trading: It All Started with the Cereals

During the pandemic, Internet delivery of essential food and goods to many self-isolated or forced quarantine people became the only means of communication with the world. At the same time, fear of the consequences of the pandemic led buyers to think about purchasing for sale. According to the Federation of International Trade Associations (FITA), which includes the country’s largest retailers, by early April, the traffic in neighborhood stores had decreased by 20-30% and in supermarkets by 40-60%. At the same time, there was a sharp influx of customers into online food delivery services, which even led to the failure of their services.

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In the new working conditions, online services ceased to cope with the multiples of orders, the delivery horizon increased from 1-2 days to a week or more. In the express delivery segment, the intervals also increased and often exceeded the declared 1-2 hours by several times. The peak of sales occurred in the middle and end of March. In particular, the average check grew to almost $200, almost twice the average value in December 2019. The number of goods in one order in March also increased 1.5-2 times – from 40 to 60-80 goods (such stocks would have been enough for an average family for 108 days). The group of goods in high demand included canned meat (38-fold increase), frozen products (30), cereals (25.5), sugar (24.6).

As noted in the research company Nielsen, online sales of instant soups (by 271%), toilet paper (by 185%), home cleaning products (by 171%), sauces (by 136%), ultra-pasteurized milk (by 128%), water (by 102%), alcohol and pasta also increased.

To meet the increased demand, delivery services had to launch new warehouses in April, revise plans for expansion into the regions, and increase the number of pickers and couriers. Non-core companies also began selling their products. For example, a fashion retailer Lamoda, against the backdrop of coronavirus, launched the sale of long shelf-life products.

After an outbreak of boom, according to retailers, by mid-April, demand for delivery services has stabilized but remained high. For example, it is no longer buying durable goods, as it was in mid-March, but the most common products – vegetables, fruits, bread, milk, eggs, water, ready-made dishes.

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Restaurant at home

In early April, the situation with the coronavirus began to affect the market for the delivery of ready meals from restaurants. According to the ready-to-serve meal delivery service, the residents of the remaining houses made 23% more orders during the first weekend than during the previous week, and the extension of non-working days until again led to an increase in demand for the delivery of products – by 10-18%.  According to a well-known delivery company, since the end of March, the flow of new users has quadrupled – now they account for 20% of orders.

Gadgets 

With the relocation of major areas of life in the online increased demand for gadgets that provide a successful immersion in remote work and functioning in the new reality. Demand for computer equipment and related devices such as computer headsets, mice, and keyboards has grown 2.5 times. There has been an increase in demand for products that can be classified as remote work and gaming products, as well as more frequent purchases of software, subscriptions to online film services, and educational purposes like paper writing service.

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At the same time, if due to the transition to the “remote” most often purchased laptop models in the price segment from $ 400 to $ 500, the cost of models purchased for distance learning and personal purposes, usually higher and is more than $ 800. Powerful components and high-quality characteristics make these computers ideal for modern computer games. Consequently, the gaming industry is also growing during the pandemic.

In the first months of 2020 compared to the same period last year, sales of game consoles and games showed a growth of 10%, and at the end of March, it began to grow much faster. One of the most popular games purchased in the spring was the continuation of the legendary DOOM Eternal shooter, thanks to which the demand for video games increased by 50% in a few weeks.

 

Emily Moore