How are people coping with ongoing social distancing? What are we buying during quarantine? Booze? CBD? Meditation? Obsessive news consumption?
Turns out, it’s a cocktail of indulgence and mindfulness. After all, change is hard, and thanks to the involuntary changes brought about by COVID-19, the need for coping techniques is real.
Increased stress can weaken our ability to function, triggering headaches, GI issues, depression, higher blood pressure, decreased immune system, erectile dysfunction, missed periods. Any one of these things could, in turn, make your stress levels spike again.
So, what are people to do?
Buying during quarantine: 5 ways people are getting through
If you’re Kesha, you’re self-quarantining with your boyfriend, who applies sheet masks to your derrière. Laura Dern started quarantine by dropping her usual meditation routine from the stress, but then picked it back up.
Tragically for The Youth, many adults are now discovering TikTok and quickly losing time as they go spelunking through the endlessly watchable content.
1) When your preferred approach to self-care is…a chill vibe: Edible sales surge
“The biggest killer on the planet is stress, and I still think that the best medicine is and always has been cannabis.” – Willie Nelson
Willie isn’t alone; the mainstreaming of CBD products combined with a global pandemic has goosed sales numbers. Cannabis products have seen rapid growth. Gnome Serum, a CBD brand, has enjoyed a 175% increase in online sales, and the size of the orders has grown threefold. For 53% of consumers in one study, the primary driver for seeking cannabis was anxiety.
Cannabis edibles are the snack of the quarantined set. The same week that the World Health Organization officially declared the Coronvirus a pandemic, online sales of edibles soared up 10.6%.
Chew on this: A single gummy with 10mg of THC, for the newly initiated can offer the equivalent relaxation levels of 2 alcoholic beverages. This makes edibles not only tasty, but also less expensive, with a lower caloric value than booze.
2) The Quarantine 15 has folks sweating things out – inside
Speaking of calories, the idea of the Quarantine 15 has many of us running scared. Ok, we haven’t been running, and that’s what scares us. Enter a new obsession with streaming fitness in our homes: 68% of consumers are turning to their mobile devices for streaming.
Peloton reported 66% year over year growth tally in its first quarter as a result of the at-home-fitness surge as gyms closed. DailyBurn has been offering their Pilates, barre, yoga, cardio, strength training, and HIIT workouts with a 268% year over year explosion. Cheers to fitness as a coping mechanism!
Wait. Is that water in your water bottle or…
3) Clinking glasses to pass the time: Online alcohol sales see 78% increase
We may joke about being sick of Zoom meetings, but the truth is, as we have to avoid bars and restaurants, the craving to interact and cut loose bubbles to the surface. During the third week of March, when New York State adopted the shelter-in-place mandate, alcoholic beverage sales shot up 55% compared to the same time a year ago, according to Nielsen.
About 55% of respondents to a survey by FourLoko said they’ve participated in virtual happy hours. Another 41% said that they are drinking more than before social distancing.
Despite flagging beer sales before the pandemic with the popularity of lower carb hard seltzers, pandemic pints are filled with brands like Budweiser. There has been a 78% increase in online sales of beers, wines, and spirits.
We know that drunk shopping is a (BIG) thing, so if people are drinking more, are they…yep. They are: See #4.
4) Filling carts from the comfort of home: Retail rising
As we socially distance, we’re not staying very far from our credit cards – online sales are booming.
You might be surprised by what we are buying. Are Crocs the house-shoe of the quarantine? Their e-commerce sales are up 14%, and wholesale sales are up 27%.
We’re motivated by feeling prepared, but that doesn’t entirely stifle the desire to feel good; to treat ourselves. Impulse spending is up in a big way.
A survey about spending trends during COVID revealed that 20% of respondents had made gaming impulse purchases, 22% spent money on clothing, and home improvement project materials made up 18%. Consumers are still responding to discounts and taking advantage of sales.
There are no hard public numbers on ad spend efficacy in the last month, but it’s pretty clear the pandemic has made many of us susceptible to impulse purchases for meme-like items. That cat shirt will be mine.
5) Mindfulness, even if you weren’t born that way
Lady Gaga told Grammy MusicCares, “Being kind is the most powerful thing we can do right now; being kind to each other and being self-aware…” She isn’t alone, many public figures have come forward to talk about mental health and the need to explore what works. It’s an exciting evolution from the pre-pandemic, preening Instagram feeds.
Lizzo piped up to say, “This quarantine has a lot of people suffering from mental health issues because we can’t get out and do our normal coping/self-care routines…. self-hatred was starting to creep up on me, but I gotta remember I’m 110% that b**** 💁🏾♀️ love you!”
Apps like Calm and Headspace have extended discounted or even free options to support people in their quest for peace.
Whether you are matching up with the statistics and trends, or marching to a completely different beat, the important thing, pandemic or not, is to know what works for you.
Don’t buy into the headlines that tell you to do things a certain way. Have a bite of chocolate, sleep late, try a new class, and let yourself pick up an old hobby. As long as you are moving forward feeling some measure of hope, it’ll be ok.
