What are the most sold items since the pandemic began?

Every Friday, we answer a common question about fulfillment, shipping, or business. This week’s question comes from one of the fans who entered our giveaway contest for a Roku. Today we will answer the following question: “what are the most sold items since the pandemic began?”

What are the most sold items since the pandemic began?

First things first: no one can give you a definitive answer right now about the hottest pandemic items. The pandemic is still going on, so knowing the most sold items is impossible until the pandemic subsides.

On top of that, different websites are reporting different statistics. How120ever, some items have been mentioned in multiple places, so we can reasonably confident that these items really are selling hot cakes.

With this in mind, the biggest obvious winner is online grocery delivery. Online grocery sales increased over 200% in March 2020, compared a general 30-40% increase in eCommerce sales in March. Not only were many people using online grocery delivery for safety reasons, but many people were stocking up on lots of food very quickly.

Many other household item categories overperformed expectations, such as:

• Medical supplies, both directly related to the pandemic and related to stocking up on medication for other conditions.
• Baby products for parents who suddenly found themselves without childcare.
• Cleaning supplies such as sanitary wipes and hand sanitizer, purchased in large quantities by people hoping to stop the spread of the virus.
• Work-from-home supplies such as computers, printers, and stationery, for people who would be working remotely for the first time because of the pandemic.
• Entertainment such as board games, video games, and streaming services for people who would be housebound, bored, and low on cash.
• Cookbooks, spices, and kitchen appliances for people who would find themselves cooking for the first time.
• Chest freezers for people expecting to eat at home, but also for people who wanted to stock up for fear of a food shortage.
• Seeds for people with newfound time to tend a garden or fears of food shortages.
• Pet supplies for people who would be spending more time with their cats and dogs.
• Patio, lawn, and garden supplies for those who wanted to use quarantine as a chance to beautify their home and do some landscaping.

Will these trends last?

Only time will tell if these trends will continue after the coronavirus pandemic begins to subside. However, many of these items were already growth categories before the pandemic, particularly online grocery and pet supplies. Any item that was growing prior to the pandemic will likely to continue to do so afterward.

If the pandemic goes on long enough, people may permanently change their habits – cooking for themselves more and staying home for entertainment. If behavior changes in the long-term, product sales will surely follow. It really depends on whether the coronavirus pandemic will be a fleeting historical oddity or a world-changing event.

Either way it turns out, we’ll be watching these trends.