MAY 2020 RETAILOBSERVER.COM
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THE IMPACTS OF
COVID-19
SINCE THE CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK SPREAD TO THE U.S.
IN EARLY MARCH, NATIONWIDE MARKETING GROUP HAS
BEEN SURVEYING ITS MEMBER RETAILERS TO TRACK HOW
THEY ARE RESPONDING TO — AND WORKING THROUGH —
THIS UNPRECEDENTED SITUATION.
Retailers Report
on
T
he year 2020 was billed as a time of tremendous opportunity and promise
for the global economy. But then came the coronavirus pandemic which
effectively brought the world to a halt.
"Unprecedented" now feels like a severe understatement for what we've all
been living through, but it is certainly accurate. As of early April, at least 90
percent of Americans have been told to stay at home, and businesses and
corporations across the globe have been forced to transition their entire staffs to
work from home, where possible. Meanwhile, schools are closed, restaurants are
empty, nonessential businesses are shuttered, public parks and playgrounds are
roped off to prevent social gatherings, and hand sanitizer is nowhere to be found.
580 respondents
assort an array of durable goods, with many dealers offering
multiple categories. Of participating dealers, we found that:
54%
Offer Home Furnishings
62%
Offer Bedding
past week, dealers have seen:
8.5% Traffic decrease slightly
18.6% Traffic decrease significantly
29.3% Traffic increase slightly,
a sharp rise from 15.9% two weeks ago.
reporting insight into website traffic
Two weeks ago, these metrics registered at 12.4% and
11.4% respectively, with the total percentage of
dealers seeing a decrease in website traffic moving
from 24% to 27%.
in the past week, dealers have seen:
19.0% Traffic decrease slightly
67.1% Traffic decrease significantly
4.4% Traffic increase slightly,
up from 3.4% two weeks ago.
Two weeks ago, these metrics registered at 27.9%
and 52.4% respectively, with the total percentage
of dealers seeing a decrease in traffic moving from
80% to 86%.
reporting insight into store traffic