We’ve Tracked the COVID-19 Consumer Journey
It’s been over a month since life changed in the U.S. and the world at-large. The brick-and-mortar economy ground to a halt when shutdowns started—but not ecommerce.
In the weeks since, beginning March 13th, we’ve analyzed over one billion dollars per week in MNTN customer ecommerce sales to identify the consumer trends that emerged during the COVID-19 crisis. We’ve provided a week-over-week analysis of which verticals grew or declined, and how each week’s trends played into consumers’ journeys during the crisis. Here’s what we found.
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The Big Stories
COVID Hyper Consumers
At first everyone only bought essential items like groceries. After that, a new category of consumer emerged. These deal-seeking shoppers are fewer in number, but buying far more due to aggressive promos and deals—resulting in more purchases from a smaller group of consumers.
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The Big Stories
Every Day is Black Friday
Advertisers are pushing as many discounts as possible, and consumers are responding by buying more for less. Overall, purchases are up while average order value is down, resulting in growth rates in one week that can exceed the biggest shopping days of the year.
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The Big Stories
Week 1
The Hoarding Begins
Even before retailers got aggressive with discounts, purchases skyrocketed. Grocery stores and pharmacies across the nation were slammed and millions of consumers bought everything they could fit in their carts—or even more than that. The same story played out online and purchase growth exploded across any category the public considered essential.
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Week 1 Notable Verticals for Purchase and Consumer Growth
- Purchases
- Consumers
March 13 - March 19
Source: MNTN Data
Pharmacy
If you’re staying home to keep healthy, then you better have your meds. Pharmacy purchases nearly quadrupled.
Groceries
With all the chaos going down at brick-and-mortar grocery stores, consumer purchases surged for online orders.
Tobacco
Stay-at-home smokers loaded up on tobacco, resulting in flat consumer growth but a jump in total purchases.
Food & Beverage
A lot of shoppers decided to skip hoarding groceries and went with meal delivery services instead.
Pet Food & Supplies
If it came down to it, consumers figured pets could just eat people food. Pet food wasn’t as high a priority for many shoppers.
Week 1 Growth Leaders
Week 1 Growth Leaders
Consumers found their favorite bar—the one at home—and bought an enormous amount of wine & spirits to help cope.
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Week 1 Growth Leaders
Week 1 Growth Leaders
Shoppers went crazy hoarding for themselves, but pets didn’t get as much love. Pet food & supplies saw only modest growth.
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Week 1 Industries in Decline
The travel industry experienced a staggering decline. For every...
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people traveling
the week prior to
the crisis
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were traveling
by the end of
week 1.
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Week 1 Industries in Decline
Due to stay-at-home orders, people waited to schedule elective medical procedures, making it the hardest hit segment.
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decline
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The Big Stories
Week 2
All About Entertainment & Fitness
Fitness saw an unprecedented increase in sales in week two, with entertainment and consumer electronics not far behind. Consumers wanted to be entertained while stuck at home, making anything that made them feel good a priority. Thankfully, that included philanthropy for some, which led to a huge increase in charitable donations.
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Week 2 Notable Verticals for Purchase and Consumer Growth
- Purchases
- Consumers
March 20 - March 26
Source: MNTN Data
Fitness
Fitness purchases nearly tripled in a single week and made it the dominant segment.
Comics & Animation
If there was ever a time to catch up on your backlog of X-Men comics, it’s during stay-at-home orders.
Philanthropy
People were in need, and the public responded. Donations to charities increased significantly during the second week.
Music
When you find a new artist or band you like, you add their album to your collection. It turns out people in week two had plenty of time to do that.
Consumer Electronics & Technology
A small number of consumers were buying a lot more video games, TVs, and iPads—the first major sign of the “Every Day is Black Friday” trend.
Week 2 Growth Leaders
Week 2 Growth Leaders
Not everyone just streams music for free. People created their stay-at-home soundtracks and music purchases surged.
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Week 2 Growth Leaders
Week 2 Growth Leaders
ESPN’s primary spectator sport is now video games, so it’s no surprise shoppers are buying more PlayStations and consumer electronics.
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Week 2 Industries in Decline
The travel industry continued its freefall toward zero.
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Week 2 Industries in Decline
Pharmacy purchases skyrocketed in week one, then traced back toward normal purchasing behavior.
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Week 3 Notable Verticals for Purchase and Consumer Growth
- Purchases
- Consumers
March 27 - April 2
Source: MNTN Data
Fitness
Consumers kept building their home gyms, leading to another week of triple digit growth.
Furniture
Three weeks straight of sitting on a lumpy couch can incentivize anyone to upgrade. Furniture saw a near 100% increase.
Photography
Aspiring photographers (and seasoned pros) pounced on aggressive discounts to pick up expensive equipment at low prices.
Clothing
Clothing purchases lagged in the first couple weeks, but discounts in week three proved too good to pass up.
Restaurants & Delivery
Home cooked meals are great, but nothing beats ordering from a favorite restaurant. Millions of Americans ordered in during week three.
Week 3 Growth Leaders
Week 3 Growth Leaders
Consumers took advantage of clothing deals to update to a more casual, home-friendly wardrobe.
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Week 3 Growth Leaders
Week 3 Growth Leaders
People either started running low on food, or got tired of cooking. Whatever the reason, restaurants and delivery benefited.
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Week 3 Industries in Decline
After a rough couple weeks, travel appeared to have found its bottom. Purchases were flat for week three.
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The Big Stories
Week 4
Adjusting to the New Normal
Consumers started to settle back into old habits. Purchases around hobbies, like photography and golf, shot up massively thanks to enticing deals. Consumer goods made a major comeback as well as shoppers returned to buying their basic needs and wants. Week four made it clear that the days of reactionary buying were over—for now.
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Week 4 Notable Verticals for Purchase and Consumer Growth
- Purchases
- Consumers
April 3 - April 9
Source: MNTN Data
TV Movies & Streaming
With the number of Connected TV viewers in the U.S., it’s no surprise the “new normal” means more streaming.
Gifts & Flowers
People found new ways to stay in touch with the ones they love, which meant an increase in gifting.
Consumer Goods
Shoppers bought more consumer goods in week four than any other week in the crisis—another signal that normalcy was returning.
Photography
The surge in photography purchases showed no sign of slowing down in week four.
Golf
Golf purchases were driven higher by only a small increase in shoppers—more evidence COVID Hyper Consumers were setting sites on their hobbies.
Week 4 Growth Leaders
Week 4 Growth Leaders
The stock market rebounded and caught consumers’ attention for financial services, leading to triple digit growth.
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Week 4 Growth Leaders
Week 4 Growth Leaders
Golfing and social distancing go hand in hand, as do really great deals and a new set of clubs.
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Week 4 Industries in Decline
Pharmacies finally settled in back to normal purchasing patterns.
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Week 4 Industries in Decline
Purchases were down, but average order value was up for online groceries—meaning people were buying in bulk.
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Even Though Habits Are Changing
Consumers Are Still Spending
Let us help you reach them. Top brands across every ecommerce vertical use MNTN to reach in-market shoppers on Connected TV, web, and mobile—join them today.