Yahoo Finance Coronavirus: The fastest growing industries in response to COVID-19
The home furnishing industry is the fastest growing sector in response to the coronavirus pandemic, a new study has shown.
According to UK merchant payment provider, Dojo, part of the Paymentsense brand, home furnishing grew almost 500% worldwide since last March as stay at home orders turned people to sprucing up their homes.
The company used data from Yahoo Finance and Purchase Intent to analyse and rank information in the report. The data showed which industries benefited from the “unforeseen changes” in their customers’ lifestyles during the period from March to November 2020 of the pandemic.
Following behind home furnishings (458%) was mail order catalogues, which grew on average 349%, and sports clothing and equipment, which saw a 305% growth in response to COVID-19 thanks to a rise in home workouts.
Making up the top five industries was building and DIY (287%) and silver (174%).
Illustration and editing software (156%), photography (138%) and home improvement (122%) also saw huge growth during the period, as people worldwide found other ways to fill their time.
Gaming activities, which included online gaming, also enjoyed a 129% boost in sales.
The UK was one of the worst hit among major economies in Europe in the wake of the coronavirus.
Across Britain, supermarkets, online shopping and mixed good retailers received the biggest boost from the pandemic, while banks and building societies, transport, and pubs and fast food suffered the biggest declines.
The property sector also grew by 2.3% in the eight months thanks to chancellor Rishi Sunak’s stamp duty holiday.
However, the restrictions on movement across the country also caused travel, car and fuel sales to decrease by 1.7%.
READ MORE: Lockdown spurs savings for home improvements and holidays
Jon Knott, head of customer insights at Dojo, said: “Last year saw changing fortunes in the economy, which have forced retailers to face some of the toughest challenges in generations. Circumstances beyond control have led to rapid consumer shifts, that were previously unheard of.
A lot of retailers have pivoted in order to survive, with some understandably being unable to do so.
But we’ve also seen other businesses thrive during this time. Our findings confirm that whilst it may have been a tough year for everyone, many industries will come out of the otherside, with some maybe even stronger than ever in 2021.”
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