Active Early: What Are People Ready to Buy?

Some consumers are starting to buy again (otherwise known as “Active Earlies”) as if the virus no longer exists. Yet, how long will this last? And what are those consumers buying right now to help the economy from going bust? Statistics bring out some interesting revelations.

Products Being Bought This Summer

According to USA Today, a number of worthwhile products are taking off. Some of those are things related to the virus, but other items have picked up as well. Virus-related products include cloth face coverings and hand sanitizer, both of which are unlikely to dip in sales through early 2021.

McKinsey recently reported the overall buying patterns during COVID-19 are starting to fall into some specific niche categories. These include: A shift to value and essentials, digital and omnichannel products, the health economy, and focusing on a homebody economy.

A few industries affected by the virus earlier in the year are starting to pick up some steam. One of these includes the sale of automobiles through different means.

Car Sales

Most sources say car sales are starting to pick up again, albeit in one particular style of automobile. Streets Blog recently reported car sales spiked 40% starting in April. These consumers are buying big vehicles such as SUVs and trucks.

A major reason behind these sales is cheaper gas prices. Also, driving a truck or SUV does allow people to go out into rugged terrain to escape city life. Being out in the middle of nowhere away from people can still allow the populace to enjoy the outdoors.

To top it off, sales of cars are now occurring more often online as car dealerships shift their sale focus to selling customers digitally. Analysts expect this type of car sale paradigm to become the new norm.

Restaurants

One industry affected greatly by COVID-19 were restaurants from coast to coast. Many of them had to shut down or pull in minimal profits by doing takeout.

Now, many of them are reinventing their business structures to accommodate their customers safely. Depending on the state, some restaurants were allowed to open again through a phased reopening system. Those that did reopen switched to creative customer service methods for their regulars.

Some are doing drive-thru options, or creating full meals and providing them for safe pick-up. Others do curbside deliveries or even use innovations like physical transfer chambers outside the business doors.

Restaurants are slowly recovering, if the offbeat methods they now use perhaps becoming mainstream in post-COVID time.

Transportation

America’s airlines, train services, and even car rentals all took a major hit during the quarantine months. More recently, reports are it will take years for the airline industry to fully recover from the dearth of travelers. Business Insider says it could be as late as 2023 or beyond before any recovery takes place.

In the world of train travel, things become more complicated because it’s impossible to keep six-foot distances while riding. Industries like Amtrak are still running, if doing more limited bookings to create proper social distancing for their seating.

Car rentals have had their challenges (including Hertz and Advantage filing for bankruptcy). They’re expected to keep surviving through the rest of the year thanks to disinfected cars and lower rental rates.

Active Early

Tapping into the Active Early crowd is going to be a big factor going forward. What’s most important is finding the right marketing paths to help reach these buyers who still have the financial means to buy.