It is no secret that ever since the Coronavirus hit the average daily screen time has dramatically risen among all people, especially teenagers. Stores and malls closing played a big role into this, resulting in a drastic increase in online shopping.
One of three shipments of packages to Northwood on a recent Monday in January (Photo: Mr. Paul Ellsworth)
According to CNN, “Ikea, which is best known for its cavernous, big box stores, reported a 45% increase in online sales over the 12 months to August.” CNN also says, “US e-commerce sales will increase 18% to $710 billion this year, research firm eMarketer estimated in June. Global sales will nearly match that pace of expansion, rising 16.5% to $3.9 trillion.”
Companies like Amazon and UPS had to start hiring more employees just to get the packages shipped. I know here at Northwood lots of online shopping was going on, especially during our two-week quarantine at the beginning of the year.
Another trend that developed since Covid hit is Instacart. People didn’t want to risk leaving their houses to get groceries. Instacart is an app that delivers groceries directly to your house (or dorm). After thousands of small businesses had to close due to the pandemic, is appears that Instacart is here to stay. According to CNBC, recent demand for Instacart “has been the highest in the company’s history and that customer order volume is up more than 500% year-over-year.” Once a privilege, the pandemic turned this service into an essential way of living overnight. According to The Daily Mail, “Instacart announced that a fresh round of investment had pushed the company’s value to almost $14 billion, as coronavirus forces more people to shop from home.” Instacart has become one of the most widely used home grocery delivery sources.
Not only is Instacart a great source of delivery to families at home, but it is also used greatly at Northwood by the students living there. I know I use it countless times during the year to restock my groceries or if I want a certain snack.
