The coronavirus pandemic has taken over the world and millions of people are forced to change their lifestyle habits, including shopping behaviours. Here in Singapore, Covid-19 is not just changing how we are doing their shopping, but also what we are buying.
iPrice.sg has been analyzing more than hundreds of thousands of shoppers and their online shopping behaviour, which produced pretty unique and unexpected results. Here are some of the surprising items Singaporeans are searching for and purchasing!
Condoms
It's expected that the sales of health supplements, face masks and hand sanitisers would go up. But it turns out, we are searching high and low for condoms too! Data reveals that searches for condoms have shot up by 67%. Then again, we can't say that it's entirely unexpected, what else would couples be doing, being locked up together at home all the time…
Electronics hardware
Driving the new WFH norm, consumers have been scrambling for items like webcams, Wi-Fi routers, printers, and keyboards. According to iPrice’s data, there is an 85% increase in searches for webcams and 99% for Wi-Fi routers! The increase of search interests for keyboards and printers also jumped by 137% and 67% respectively.
Gaming consoles
Lots of people have turned to the gaming industry to help them stay entertained at home. Data have revealed that electronic items such as gaming consoles and TV have the highest searches during this coronavirus pandemic. This may indicate that most Singaporeans have turned to gaming as the new digital hangout option. Consoles and devices like PS4 and Nintendo Switch saw a whopping 713% and 57% respectively!
Cooking appliances
Now that most of us are cooped up at home, what better opportunity to try out new recipes and cook some homemade food? iPrice's data reveals that the searches for cooking appliances such as cookware, dish racks, and rice dispensers has grown by 57%. Practicing good hygiene in the kitchens has also proven to be highly important, with searches for kitchen cleaning and disinfectant related items increasing massively by 127%.
Booze and coffee
Since making “stay at home” as our new mantra, we've had to bid a temporary goodbye to coffee dates and getting a pint after work. But it turns out, many Singaporeans are purchasing coffee and alcohol to recreate at home the experience of going out for coffee or drinks. Seems like coffee and alcohol are pretty essential to us in the circuit breaker! Data reveals that the increase in searches of coffee was recorded at 107% growth, while alcohol experienced a 47% increase.