We have seen the long lines at grocery stores and the empty shelves but how much faster are sales of in demand items growing and how is consumer spending shifting over time? First out of the gate when we started to learn more about COVID-19 were spikes in the sales of hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes. By the first week of March 2020 sales of hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes were up 470% and 385% respectively in the U.S. That’s why it was so difficult for you to find what you were looking for.

While there was a lot of discussion about toilet paper selling out with sales up 213% in the second week of March, there were several other items with very high spikes in sales in the same time period. These items include shelf stable products like oat milk (+477%), powdered milk products (+245%) and dried beans (+231%) that last a while and do not take up precious space in the refrigerator. By this point in the pandemic people started to realize that it might last longer than they hoped and they wanted to ensure they were prepared.

Once consumers had a solid base of essential items spending shifted to purchases that would help to make the most of the time at home. Have you started to make bread yet or what about homemade pizza? If you have you are not the only one. Baking yeast was the fastest growing consumer packaged good in the U.S. in the last two weeks of March with sales growing at 647% and 457% respectively during the weeks ending March 21 and 28, 2020. A lot of pizzas and baked goods are going to be made over the next few months. Not only is it a fun activity but it’s something that the entire family can do together.

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When people aren’t baking or trying out new recipes they are playing more games. Does this sound like you? During the week ended March 21, 2020 sales of puzzles and games were up 228%. If your kids are playing games then they might be having fun with finger paints which grew at the fast rate of +313% during the week ended March 21, 2020. Non-fiction kids books are also seeing spikes in sales with parents ensuring that their kids are still learning even though they are not in school.

The third week of March 2020 is also when many states in the U.S. ordered people to “shelter in place”. Without having restaurants or bars to go to alcohol sales jumped by 55% and ready to drink cocktails (i.e. spiked lemonades or canned gin and tonics) grew at a rate of 106%.

As we move further into this period of self-isolation consumers are shifting their spending to selfcare. If you need to get a haircut before your next Zoom meeting then you might be one of the many consumers that are now spending on grooming items like home hair clippers which were up 166% the week ended April 4, 2020. Speaking about this Walmart’s CEO Doug McMillon said: “as people have stayed home, their focus shifted." "People are starting to need a haircut so you start to see more beard trimmers and hair color and things like that."It's interesting to watch the dynamic play out." He’s right. The next shift in consumer behaviour is anyone’s guess but at some point people will have to restock and eventually after you have tried every new recipe from the New York Times Cooking website and played every game, read every book and listened to every interesting podcast you will be looking for new ways to spend your time.

Weekly sales growth in the United States in 2020 of selected items during the COVID-19 Pandemic