These are unprecedented times. However, not all is lost- there are certain businesses flourishing amidst all the uncertainty.
Coronavirus has created havoc both in terms of human causalities and economic crises worldwide and has bought most businesses to a standstill. Widespread layoffs and furloughs have already increased the unemployment rate in many nations. Even though, as many countries are now opening up, but the businesses and jobs lost may never come back.
COVID-19 pandemic, undoubtedly, is bad for business, but for some companies, it has opened a window of opportunity. The lockdown restrictions have changed people’s spending habits. Here are the businesses that have flourished amidst this looming crisis.
FMCG Shines Amidst This Crisis
The FMCG sector is thriving as demand for many household goods has jumped manifolds over the last couple of months. The widespread panic-buying during the lockdown period has helped the FMCG sector to perform fairly well. The companies producing daily needs like dairy products have seen a sudden gush in demand. There has been heavy stockpiling of not only essential food items, but people have also indulged in items like chocolates, biscuits, cookies, and salty snacks.
Besides that, FMCG companies also make hygiene products like cleaning wipes, sanitizers, and other disinfectants that are high in demand. The top FMCG players are ramping up the production to meet the requirements.
E-Commerce And Online Groceries
With millions of people under lockdown across the globe, the online grocery platforms have seen a sudden surge in demand. For instance, Fresh Hema, a grocery delivery app of Alibaba, has registered 100,000 downloads in a single day in the month of February as compared to an average of 29000 in 2019. Even major e-commerce companies like Amazon are delivering essential goods during the pandemic. For obvious reasons, people are moving to contactless delivery services. It won’t be a surprise if all these companies see an exponential rise in their profits in the coming months.
Pharmaceuticals And Healthcare Businesses
Pharmaceutical companies have taken center stage during this crisis. Companies like Eli Lilly, Pfizer, and Gilead have seen positive growth. This is a big business opportunity for pharmaceutical companies as the world needs its products at this time. From testing kits, PPE to vaccines to other essential medicines, the demand has seen a rise.
Video Conferencing
With most of the population working from home, video conferencing apps have benefitted. Even educational institutions are using these apps to conduct classes. Zoom, a video conferencing startup, has profited during the coronavirus outbreak. The share price and company’s sales are already up by 50% this year. Besides that, Teams and Skype from Microsoft and WebEx from Cisco have also seen major upticks on sales. Most of these platforms are offering special deals to corporates for their conferencing services during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Entertainment And Social Media Platforms
With people staying at home most of the time, there has been a surge in online content consumption and internet usage. Entertainment platforms like Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, and Netflix all have reported an increase in viewership. Even online gaming platforms are witnessing record volumes.
As people are advised to follow social distancing, social networking apps such as Facebook, Skype, and Instagram are experiencing increased usage as it allows people to keep in touch across the globe.
EdTech Companies Businesses
During the pandemic, almost everyone has turned to online education, and the EdTech companies have found an opportunity as the world moves to remote teaching. Many EdTech companies have launched new e-learning courses while developing tools to analyze the performance of the students and help educators to track their progress.
To conclude, these businesses have found themselves favorably on the right side of history. By applying a basic level of competence, and the changing consumer behavior patterns will help these businesses to flourish further.
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