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How does the US come out of the economic crisis due to the pandemic? 2:43
(CNN Business) - The coronavirus has dramatically changed the way people shop: leading to significant offers for some products and sharp price increases for others.
Online shopping soared last month, according to an Adobe Analytics study released Thursday. And it is not a surprise: many people cannot or do not want to leave home to go shopping in the midst of the pandemic.
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The massive increase in online shopping put April at the level of a giant Black Friday sale (or Black Friday, in Spanish), said Adobe Analytics. For some retailers, online traffic during that month competed with the figures recorded on Black Friday. Other companies left huge discounts on items that did not sell well during the pandemic, thus offering customers offers similar to those of Black Friday.
Clothes
Working from home in the coronavirus era means Americans are shopping online for far more groceries and far fewer pants.
Economic losses vs. prevention of infections by covid-19 2:27Now, to convince customers to buy, online clothing stores lowered their prices. These stores were forced to reduce the value of the garments by 12% on average, between March and April. It is the largest decrease in prices in a month recorded by Adobe Analytics.
That helped boost clothing sales, which increased 34% over the same period.
"We have never seen anything like this in the clothing business," said Vivek Pandya, principal analyst at Adobe's digital information group. "Right now [the clothing companies] are experiencing the kind of prices they would normally have during Black Friday," she added.
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Many of the major clothing retailers were forced to close their physical stores due to confinement orders. Also, Americans who shouldn't go to work also don't need to buy clothes to wear at the office, gym, or other social outings.
That helped increase pajama sales by 143%, but also led to a 13% decrease in pants sales, Adobe Analytics said. Similarly, the price of bras or bras fell 12%.
Photo of the exterior of an H&M store in New York City. (Credit: John Lamparski / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images)
H&M, Adidas, and many other retailers reported a devastating decline in sales in recent months. S&P Global Market Intelligence also cited a third less than apparel exports from China during the pandemic.
Sales on the rise
Overall, e-commerce sales increased 49% last month, and categories like online groceries, electronics, and books doubled.
Adobe Analytics, which groups and analyzes more than a trillion data points of online retailers using its software - including 80 of the top 100 e-commerce sites - found that online supermarket sales increased 110% between March and April, according to the data provided. to CNN Business.
Sellers of alcohol and audio-making equipment also experienced an e-commerce boom last month, Adobe Analytics noted.
The research group found that online sales of wine, beer, and spirits, added together, increased 74% between March 11 and April 21. Sales of audio-creating equipment such as microphones and sound mixers increased 459% in April, according to Pandya, the chief analyst at Adobe Analytics.
This is how the coronavirus crisis hit Amazon 1:57"I would attribute it to people who want to express their creativity right now," Pandya said. "When people realize that they are going to be quarantined for a long period, they think about it," he added.
The increasing demand has also led to a considerable increase in the prices of some items online. The values of electronic devices, especially, have risen: Computer prices soared 3.1% last month. Toys were also 1.5% more expensive in April than in March. That trend changes years from previous ones that were the best offers on e-commerce platforms like Amazon.
However, those sales gains weren't enough to erase the overall losses major retailers have experienced due to an economic downturn that makes Americans buy less, said Sucharita Kodali, a retail analyst at Forrester.
"It will take a long time for sales to return to normal and for people to feel comfortable when they return to the stores," said Kodali. "We are in the midst of a recession, possibly a depression. If there is a nonessential retailer that can thrive in that environment, I want to know who it is, "he added.
RetailersPants pajamasClothingSales online
