在持续不断的疫情中,闭门不出的美国人无法出游或参加日常社交活动,他们找到了不同的方法来扩大支出、发泄精力。
全国有数以百万计的人孤单地想给无聊的孩子们找个玩伴,领养的宠物创下了历史纪录。另外一些人觉得,他们不妨趁机搞搞家装,或者在地下室建个新的家庭办公室。还有一些人因为影院关门而加大影音投资,把流媒体搬进了家,或者建起了专属家庭健身房。很多购物者发现,他们爱上了网上下单再去商店取货而不需要进店,也爱上了付款时只用手机而无需触摸其他东西。
AlixPartners的一位董事总经理索尼娅·拉平斯基向《财富》杂志表示:“消费者的购物方式已经永久改变,不会再回头。”像路边取货和非接触支付等服务现在已经成为了“入场筹码”。
虽然许多消费者行为可能会回归疫情前,但其中一些变化将持续下去。在大多数美国人接种疫苗、疫情缓解之后,《财富》杂志认为以下消费趋势仍将持续。
宠物热
美国人疯狂地爱上了狗(猫也一样,不过程度低一点),领养数量激增,因此推动了宠物行业的发展。计划很快重返股市的Petco表示,上季度销售额增长了16%,而Chewy的业务增长了近50%。随着大批新“宠物父母”的出现,只会加速疫情前宠物拟人化的趋势,因此,以宠物为导向的消费将继续增长。
钱都花在了家里
今年11月,消费者保持了疫情爆发以来的消费习惯:减少在时尚服装上的支出,增加在家居项目上的支出。有分析人士预计,房屋价值将保持稳定,未来即使能够安全出门了,也会有更多美国人至少有部分时间在家工作,因此,家装项目将继续快速发展,劳氏(Lowe’s)和家得宝(Home Depotas)这两家零售业大赢家的地位将进一步得到稳固。
手工制品
Etsy在疫情期间蓬勃发展,部分原因是销售了大量口罩(仅第一季度就卖了1.3亿美元);该公司的收入在今年前9个月翻了一番。这家销售手工制品的电商网站大力提升了卖家交付订单的可靠性,吸引了许多新商家,包括很多在残酷的经济衰退期需要补贴家用的人。在这一过程中,它有效利用了人们文化观念的重大转变,即许多消费者都更青睐不同于大型超市的定制产品。
路边提货
这个词听起来似乎是给购物者提供的无聊服务,但在决定今年零售业输赢的过程中,路边提货是其中的关键因素。Petco和Ulta Beauty等连锁店在疫情爆发前没有这种服务,但在春季封锁零售业受限的情况下,它们迅速上线提货服务,很快就看到了好处。现在,购物者已经习惯了在线下单的便利,他们在提货时甚至不需要下车——而且这种方式的速度甚至让亚马逊(Amazon)都难以匹敌——预计顾客会把路边提货作为他们日常购物的常规组成部分。
休闲舒适成为流行,考究已经成为过去时
居家办公把运动裤变成了工作装,加深了美国人衣橱所谓的“休闲化”。由于白领们无需关心职业着装——至少无需关心下半身的职业装,而且需要人们盛装出席的活动越来越少,2021年的服装销量大幅跳水。但也有例外:专营运动装或休闲装的零售商。要了解不同企业的利润差异,只需将Banana Republic、梅西百货(Macy’s)或诺德斯特龙(Nordstrom)等苦苦挣扎的时装零售商的业绩与Lululemon、Athleta或Old Navy的业绩进行比较。预计休闲装的流行趋势将持续到2021年,因为美国人的办公室里不太可能在短期内再次人头攒动。
小商家的电子商务
今年3月,当科尔士(Kohl’s)和Old Navy等非必要零售商被要求无限期关闭门店时,它们至少可以求助于大型成熟电商企业。但对于不计其数的本地小商店来说,这是不现实的。因此,大量此类公司转向Shopify路线,快速建立数字业务。Shopify是一家提供运营电商网站所需技术的公司。该公司说,使用其技术的网站在黑色星期五(Black Friday)和网络星期一(Cyber Monday)期间的销售额增长了76%,其中很大一部分增长来自于新加入线上销售的公司。
谁还需要健身房?
随着全国各地的健身房停业数周,经济条件更好的人转而通过其他方式来保持体型,Peloton的销售额因此直线上升。(这家健身自行车制造商上季度的销售额增长了两倍多。)但也有许多美国人被更便宜的健身方式吸引,由此引发了新的骑自行车和跑步热潮。现在,在寒冬天气里,这转化成了滑雪装备的热销。
Zoom一下
尽管我们经常谈论“Zoom疲劳”,但视频会议已经成为人们保持职场和社交联系的重要方式。尽管随着更注重安全的企业越来越倾向于使用微软团队(Microsoft Teams)和Google Meet等服务,Zoom能否继续保持其压倒性的人气还有待观察;但是,随着视频会议技术的巨大进步,而且居家工作可能仍然是大多人的选择,这种远程连接方式在短期内不会消失。
在家舒舒服服看电影
Netflix、HBO Max和类似的服务在疫情期间已经成为数千万美国人的生命线,让他们能够在自己选择的时间里随心煲剧。除非人们怀念那些在电影院看电影时大声说话或吃东西的观众,否则很难看到大批观众回到电影院——可能除非是看需要大屏幕的大片。至少有一些好莱坞电影公司似乎在暗示他们认同这一观点:华纳兄弟(Warner Bros)在本月表示,2021年该公司出品的所有电影将在影院和HBO Max同时上映。
非接触式支付
甚至在疫情之前,已经有越来越多的企业不再使用现金,尽管一些地方政府监管机构担心这种做法会剥夺美国海量“无银行账户”人口的权利。但随着疫情爆发,无需接触任何东西就可以进行交易——只需要“点击付费”——成为许多商店和餐馆的一个卖点。到2020年年中,与2019年春季相比,美国非接触式支付的使用增加了近两倍。这种方式的便利性和易用性将使其成为美国消费者付款的固定选项。(财富中文网)
译者:Agatha
在持续不断的疫情中,闭门不出的美国人无法出游或参加日常社交活动,他们找到了不同的方法来扩大支出、发泄精力。
全国有数以百万计的人孤单地想给无聊的孩子们找个玩伴,领养的宠物创下了历史纪录。另外一些人觉得,他们不妨趁机搞搞家装,或者在地下室建个新的家庭办公室。还有一些人因为影院关门而加大影音投资,把流媒体搬进了家,或者建起了专属家庭健身房。很多购物者发现,他们爱上了网上下单再去商店取货而不需要进店,也爱上了付款时只用手机而无需触摸其他东西。
AlixPartners的一位董事总经理索尼娅·拉平斯基向《财富》杂志表示:“消费者的购物方式已经永久改变,不会再回头。”像路边取货和非接触支付等服务现在已经成为了“入场筹码”。
虽然许多消费者行为可能会回归疫情前,但其中一些变化将持续下去。在大多数美国人接种疫苗、疫情缓解之后,《财富》杂志认为以下消费趋势仍将持续。
宠物热
美国人疯狂地爱上了狗(猫也一样,不过程度低一点),领养数量激增,因此推动了宠物行业的发展。计划很快重返股市的Petco表示,上季度销售额增长了16%,而Chewy的业务增长了近50%。随着大批新“宠物父母”的出现,只会加速疫情前宠物拟人化的趋势,因此,以宠物为导向的消费将继续增长。
钱都花在了家里
今年11月,消费者保持了疫情爆发以来的消费习惯:减少在时尚服装上的支出,增加在家居项目上的支出。有分析人士预计,房屋价值将保持稳定,未来即使能够安全出门了,也会有更多美国人至少有部分时间在家工作,因此,家装项目将继续快速发展,劳氏(Lowe’s)和家得宝(Home Depotas)这两家零售业大赢家的地位将进一步得到稳固。
手工制品
Etsy在疫情期间蓬勃发展,部分原因是销售了大量口罩(仅第一季度就卖了1.3亿美元);该公司的收入在今年前9个月翻了一番。这家销售手工制品的电商网站大力提升了卖家交付订单的可靠性,吸引了许多新商家,包括很多在残酷的经济衰退期需要补贴家用的人。在这一过程中,它有效利用了人们文化观念的重大转变,即许多消费者都更青睐不同于大型超市的定制产品。
路边提货
这个词听起来似乎是给购物者提供的无聊服务,但在决定今年零售业输赢的过程中,路边提货是其中的关键因素。Petco和Ulta Beauty等连锁店在疫情爆发前没有这种服务,但在春季封锁零售业受限的情况下,它们迅速上线提货服务,很快就看到了好处。现在,购物者已经习惯了在线下单的便利,他们在提货时甚至不需要下车——而且这种方式的速度甚至让亚马逊(Amazon)都难以匹敌——预计顾客会把路边提货作为他们日常购物的常规组成部分。
休闲舒适成为流行,考究已经成为过去时
居家办公把运动裤变成了工作装,加深了美国人衣橱所谓的“休闲化”。由于白领们无需关心职业着装——至少无需关心下半身的职业装,而且需要人们盛装出席的活动越来越少,2021年的服装销量大幅跳水。但也有例外:专营运动装或休闲装的零售商。要了解不同企业的利润差异,只需将Banana Republic、梅西百货(Macy’s)或诺德斯特龙(Nordstrom)等苦苦挣扎的时装零售商的业绩与Lululemon、Athleta或Old Navy的业绩进行比较。预计休闲装的流行趋势将持续到2021年,因为美国人的办公室里不太可能在短期内再次人头攒动。
小商家的电子商务
今年3月,当科尔士(Kohl’s)和Old Navy等非必要零售商被要求无限期关闭门店时,它们至少可以求助于大型成熟电商企业。但对于不计其数的本地小商店来说,这是不现实的。因此,大量此类公司转向Shopify路线,快速建立数字业务。Shopify是一家提供运营电商网站所需技术的公司。该公司说,使用其技术的网站在黑色星期五(Black Friday)和网络星期一(Cyber Monday)期间的销售额增长了76%,其中很大一部分增长来自于新加入线上销售的公司。
谁还需要健身房?
随着全国各地的健身房停业数周,经济条件更好的人转而通过其他方式来保持体型,Peloton的销售额因此直线上升。(这家健身自行车制造商上季度的销售额增长了两倍多。)但也有许多美国人被更便宜的健身方式吸引,由此引发了新的骑自行车和跑步热潮。现在,在寒冬天气里,这转化成了滑雪装备的热销。
Zoom一下
尽管我们经常谈论“Zoom疲劳”,但视频会议已经成为人们保持职场和社交联系的重要方式。尽管随着更注重安全的企业越来越倾向于使用微软团队(Microsoft Teams)和Google Meet等服务,Zoom能否继续保持其压倒性的人气还有待观察;但是,随着视频会议技术的巨大进步,而且居家工作可能仍然是大多人的选择,这种远程连接方式在短期内不会消失。
在家舒舒服服看电影
Netflix、HBO Max和类似的服务在疫情期间已经成为数千万美国人的生命线,让他们能够在自己选择的时间里随心煲剧。除非人们怀念那些在电影院看电影时大声说话或吃东西的观众,否则很难看到大批观众回到电影院——可能除非是看需要大屏幕的大片。至少有一些好莱坞电影公司似乎在暗示他们认同这一观点:华纳兄弟(Warner Bros)在本月表示,2021年该公司出品的所有电影将在影院和HBO Max同时上映。
非接触式支付
甚至在疫情之前,已经有越来越多的企业不再使用现金,尽管一些地方政府监管机构担心这种做法会剥夺美国海量“无银行账户”人口的权利。但随着疫情爆发,无需接触任何东西就可以进行交易——只需要“点击付费”——成为许多商店和餐馆的一个卖点。到2020年年中,与2019年春季相比,美国非接触式支付的使用增加了近两倍。这种方式的便利性和易用性将使其成为美国消费者付款的固定选项。(财富中文网)
译者:Agatha
As Americans have hunkered down amid the continuing pandemic, the unable to engage in travel or their usual social activities, they've sought different outlets for their energies, and by extension, their spending.
Millions people across the country, lonely looking to occupy bored kids, adopted pets in record numbers. Others figured they might as well fix their roof or set up a new home office in their basement. Another cadre of people doubled down on streaming entertainment into their home while theaters were closed, or set up their own home gyms. Legions of shoppers discovered they are happy to go to a store to pick up an online order without having to go inside, or pay without having to touch anything other than their own phone.
"The way consumers want to shop has permanently shifted, and it's not going back," Sonia Lapinsky, a managing director at AlixPartners, tells Fortune. Services like curbside pickup and contactless payment are now "table stakes."
While a lot of consumer behavior could revert to what it was pre-COVID, some of these shifts are here to stay. Here are some of the consumer trends Fortune thinks will endure after most Americans are vaccinated and the pandemic has eased.
Puppy love
Americans have gone wild for dogs (and, to a lesser extent, cats), leading to a surge in adoptions that has fueled the pet industry. Petco, which aims to return to the stock market soon, said sales were up 16% last quarter, while Chewy saw business spike by nearly 50%. The legions of new 'pet parents' will only accelerate the pre-pandemic trend toward the humanization of pets, so expect the rise of fido-oriented to spending to continue.
Home is where the spending is
In November, consumers did what they've been doing since the pandemic broke out: spending less on fashionable clothing—but much more on home projects. With analysts expecting home values to hold steady, and more Americans working from home at least part of the time even once it's safe to venture out into the world again, home improvement projects will continue apace and solidify Lowe's and Home Depotas two of retail's biggest winners.
Handmade crafts
Etsy has thrived during the pandemic, partly by selling enormous quantities of face masks ($130 million-worth in the first quarter alone); the company's revenue doubled in the first nine months of the year. The handmade goods e-commerce site, which has made big strides in improving the reliability of its sellers' delivery of orders, has attracted many new entrepreneurs, including more than a few needing to supplement their incomes during a brutal recession. Along the way, it has tapped into a significant cultural shift that is seeing many consumers seeking more customized products than what they can find at big-box stores.
Curbside pickup
It might seem like pedestrian service for shoppers, but curbside pickup has made all the difference in determining retail's winners and losers are this year. Chains like Petco and Ulta Beauty that didn't offer the service before the pandemic but quickly stood it up as spring lockdowns limited retail options immediately saw the benefit. And now that shoppers have gotten used to the convenience of retrieving online orders in a way that doesn't even require them to leave their car—and with a speed that makes it hard for even Amazon to compete—expect customers to make curbside a regular part of how they shop.
Casual and cozy are in, dressy is out
Work from home turned sweatpants into office wear and deepened the so-called "casualization" of the American wardrobe. With workers not so concerned about professional attire—at least from the waist down—and fewer events for people to get fancy for, 2021 saw overall apparel sales plummet. The exception to the rule: retailers specializing in athletic wear or casual clothing. To see that schism playing out in companies' bottom lines, just compare the results of struggling fashion retailers like Banana Republic, Macy's or Nordstrom with those of those of Lululemon Athleta or Old Navy. Expect the trend toward casual wear to continue into 2021, with American offices unlikely to be teeming with people again anytime soon.
E-commerce for the little guy
In March, as non-essential retailers like Kohl's and Old Navy were ordered to close stores indefinitely, they were least able to fall back on big and established e-commerce businesses. Not so for countless small local stores. That has led to a surge in such companies going the Shopify route to quickly build a digital business. Shopify, which provides the tech needed to operate an e-commerce site, said sales on websites using its technology rose 76% over the Black Friday-Cyber Monday period—with much of that growth fueled by companies new to online selling.
Who needs a gym?
Peloton's sales skyrocketed as gyms closed for weeks nationwide and the more affluent sought other ways to stay in shape. (The stationary bike maker's sales more than tripled last quarter.) But many Americans also gravitated toward less expensive means of staying fit, creating a new cycling and running boom. That has now translated into surge in ski equipment sales for the colder months.
Zooming in
As much as we talk about "Zoom fatigue," videoconferencing has been an essential way for people to stay connected, professionally and socially. It remains to be seen whether Zoom itself will maintain its overwhelming popularity as security-minded corporations are increasingly gravitating toward services like Microsoft Teams and Google Meet. But with videoconferencing technology vastly improved and work-from-home likely to remain a popular option, this way of remotely connected isn't going away any time soon.
Movies from the comfort of home
Netflix, HBO Max, and similar services have become a lifeline for tens of millions of Americans during the pandemic, allowing them to binge watch programs at a time of their choosing. Unless people miss audience members talking or eating loudly during a movie, it's hard to see viewers reverting en masse to movie houses—with the likely exception of seeing blockbuster movies that demand the big screen. And at least some of the Hollywood studios seem to be signaling that they agree: Warner Bros said this month it would release all of its 2021 movies in theaters and on HBO Max simultaneously.
Contactless payment
Even before the pandemic, more and more businesses were going cashless, despite misgivings from some local government regulators that this excludes America's sizable "unbanked" population. But with COVID-19, the ability to conduct a transaction without touching anything—via 'tap-and-pay'—became a selling point for many stores and restaurants. By mid-2020, the use of contactless payment had nearly tripled in the U.S. compared to spring 2019. The convenience and ease of this touch-free option will make it a fixture in U.S. consumer spending.