Thanks to COVID-19 the home appliances market has shifted
The impact of COVID-19 on business has been devastating, but in the days ahead things may not be so bad for retailers and manufacturers who can scan consumer trends and pivot. For one thing, industry reports show the pandemic drives the sale of all sorts of small appliances.
Most of these purchases are for cooking and cleaning, including products that will enable individuals to lead a healthy lifestyle, stay motivated and practise social distance.
Consumers rushed to stock up on toilet paper, frozen food, disinfectant wipes, cleaning supplies and other household essentials during the initial panic buying process. Later they switched their attention gradually to appliances that aid in cooking, hygiene, and wellness.
Retailers see a shift in spending towards small-scale appliances. Water filtration systems, air purification machines, hand-held cleaning devices and countertop kitchen appliances fly off the shelves of the warehouse. Data reported by the NPD Community shows that for the week ending March 14, sales for small appliances increased by 8 per cent.
A survey from data from Coresight Research reveals that nearly two-thirds (64.5 per cent) of those surveyed said they avoided restaurants, coffee shops, and bars. No eating out, limited takeout orders and more people in the kitchen made the sale of these small kitchen appliances necessary. Products such as bread makers, sandwich makers, electric skillets, electric pasta makers, rice cookers, electric pressure cookers, air fryers and citrus juicers sold like hotcakes. Some even saw a triple-digit percentage jump when compared with last year's same time.
The new report on consumer behaviour by Euromonitor International analyses the long- and short-term consequences of COVID-19 lockdowns on our buying patterns. Consumers were forced to reassess priorities, embrace new habits and shift consumption. Businesses need to prepare for these shifts so that they can survive the difficult times ahead.
Customer behavioural changes
Meanwhile, SEMrush gathered the new customer behaviour and e-commerce patterns data to help businesses manage these difficult times. The study shows that more people are shopping for small appliances online as they practise social remoteness.
While these were already sold online by many large maytag appliance sales company companies, not all were prepared for the rapid rise in some categories. Appliances, for example, were one item most people want to see and purchase from shops, and were expected to see such a dramatic rise in online shopping.
During the lockdown, do-it-yourself projects gained ground too. Consumers at home are trapped but they continue to stay inspired. Most use this time constructively to learn new competencies. They bak, cook, decorate, sew and spend time on arts and crafts projects. In a bid to become more self-reliant, some take on home improvement projects.
Baking has been listed as one of the top projects for DIY kitchens. According to a survey by Nielsen, yeast sales for the week ended March 21 were up nearly 650 percent compared with the same time last year.