USA Lockdown Economy - Fortnightly COVID-19 Retail Report
The LovetheSales.com ‘Lockdown Economy’ report gives you the latest insight into US retail behaviour during the lockdown. You will also find exclusive data on how COVID-19 crisis is changing American shopping habits.
Data is collected from consumer spend across 1,000+ retailers, tracked through LovetheSales.com. Shopping demand is determined using Google search data and searches from 4 million global shoppers using LovetheSales.com.
Issue #1
Wednesday, 29th April 2020.
Top US Stories
Searches for bleach and disinfectant products have shot up by 2,340% in the last week. (GO TO STORY)
Luxury fashion struggles as US demand in lockdown drops by 145% in April. (GO TO STORY)
The Lockdown Wardrobe: How has the coronavirus changed the shopping habits of the States? (GO TO STORY)
Fifty shades of lockdown: Sales of lingerie & bedroom toys have nearly doubled during lockdown (GO TO STORY)
Texas has the biggest increase in sales of bedroom toys during lockdown (+90% in April). (GO TO STORY)
Commentary on the report (GO TO COMMENT)
Searches for bleach and disinfectant products have increased by 2,340% in the last week
Donald Trump’s comments about injecting bleach as a possible cure for the coronavirus has lead to a 2,340% increase in demand for disinfectant products.
Since his White House press briefing on the 23rd of April, searches for bleach and disinfectant have spiked, compared to the same period in April 2019.
Demand for household brands, Lysol and Clorox, have drastically increased since the comments, with searches for both brands rising by 385% and 281% year-on-year.
Demand for luxury fashion falls by 145% in April
Shoppers are ditching luxury fashion during lockdown with online searches for luxury brands falling by 145% year-on-year.
Designer powerhouses’ Gucci and Versace have suffered the most during the coronavirus, with searches for both brands down 171% and 165% respectively, against last year’s figures.
Shoppers are cutting spend on high-value products and switching to cheaper alternatives during the crisis. Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger are just two brands benefitting from changing shopping habits. The premium brands have had a 44% and 35% surge in demand, year-on-year.
Gucci, the luxury brand hit hardest by the coronavirus
Examples of brands by category:
Luxury brands: Versace, Gucci
Premium brands: Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren
The Lockdown Wardrobe - What are US shoppers buying in lockdown?
Meghan’s loungewear looks influence shoppers
On the 19th of April, Meghan and Harry were spotted in LA, delivering food parcels. Meghan was wearing a stylish pair of James Perse sweatpants and Stan Smith Adidas sneakers. 4,000 US shoppers searched for Meghan’s sweatpants in the days after, whilst Stan Smith sneakers had a 26% boost in demand. Sales for sweatpants have increased by 87% in April, year-on-year.
Loungewear sales +99% boom during lockdown
Loungewear has become an essential part of Americans’ lockdown wardrobe. Fashion influencers like Meghan Markle have been flaunting their comfy clothes, causing shoppers to buy more loungewear. Sales of hoodies have increased by 114% year-on-year, sweatshirt sales are also up 106% and sweatpants +87%, compared to April 2019. Sales of pyjama sets have increased by 79% throughout April, compared to last year’s figures.
Zoom calls boost top half clothing sales
Workers have been adjusting to at-home work schedules in April, using popular video calling apps like Zoom to stay in touch with co-workers. As a result of only needing your top half in video conferencing, top half clothing sales are outperforming bottom half fashion. Sales of t-shirts, formal shirts, cardigans and knitted jumpers have risen year-on-year by 22%, in April. Whilst sales of trousers, skirts, shoes, belts and shorts have fallen by 11%, over the same period.
Netflix’s Tiger King promotes animal print fashion
When hit show ‘Tiger King’ arrived on Netflix in March, Joe Exotic couldn’t have imagined he would be influencing our fashion choices. Since the show’s release, sales of tiger print clothing have shot up by 120% year-on-year. Fashion brand Kenzo has benefitted from the show’s success. Its popular tiger logo sweatshirts have had a boost in sales of 72%, year-on-year.
Summer ready shoppers are buying swimwear
US shoppers are preparing for the end of lockdown by purchasing more swim shorts and bikinis this week. Sales of swim shorts increased by 22% week-on-week and bikinis by 17% over the same period. California saw the biggest spike in sales of swimwear (+29% week-on-week). The west coast experienced a heatwave over the weekend, with many budding beach-goers ignoring the stay-at-home orders.
Sales of lingerie and bedroom toys has increased by 77% during lockdown
Demand for premium lingerie and bedroom toys across the US has nearly doubled in April, compared to April 2019.
For most couples, spending this amount of quality time together is a rare thing. Isolation is allowing couples to reconnect and try new things, accounting for the trend in lingerie and bedroom toys during lockdown.
Texas is the US state with the highest increase in sales of bedroom toys in April
US states with the highest year-on-year increase in bedroom toy sales in April 2020.
Across all US states, Texas has the highest increase in bedroom toy sales during lockdown (+90%), with California and Illinois both showing high year-on-year increases as well.
Trending bedroom products
Online shoppers are splashing out on kinky toys during the pandemic. The public are spending on average $55 on premium lingerie and $49 on bedroom toys.
Top sales increases in April by categories of product (year-on-year)
Whips & floggers +82%
Premium lingerie +79%
Bondage equipment (Ties & Handcuffs) +52%
Blindfolds +38%
Fifty shades of grey pleasure flogger has seen rises in sales of 233% in the US
Whips & floggers have seen the highest rise in sales during the coronavirus, with an 82% increase, compared to last April. The Fifty Shades of Grey style flogger, seen in the film, is the most popular product among shoppers, with sales shooting up by 233% in April.
Kimono robes are proving popular with lockdown shoppers, sales are up 65% in April
Sales for premium lingerie in lockdown have gone up by 79%. Premium brands like Victoria’s Secret have benefited from the trend, with demand for their lingerie up 63% year-on-year. Babydoll lingerie and kimono robes are the most popular choices with US shoppers, both having an uptick in sales this April of 84% & 65% respectively.
Commentary on the report
Rupert Walker, Head of Brand at LovetheSales.com commented: “April has been an incredibly turbulent month for US retailers, consumer buying behaviour is changing by the day, much of it influenced by the news agenda as can be seen by the spike in demand for bleach and disinfectant.
There are further warning signs for luxury and fast fashion clothing brands as people look to reliable premium labels for stay at home apparel, especially loungewear. We’re even seeing former Royals, Harry and Meghan sporting sweat pants.
Couples are spending their time reconnecting in lockdown - the spike in demand and sales of lingerie and bedroom toys can be seen across multiple States, and Texas is leading the charge”
Data timeframe:
Week-on-week comparisons referenced in the report are from April 22nd-28th 2020 v April 15th-21st 2020.
Year-on-year comparisons referenced in the report are from April 1st-28th 2019 v April 1st-28th 2020.
LovetheSales.com stores data from more than 16,000 brands that appear on the site.
LovetheSales.com is a global marketplace for shopping discounts, the platform partners with more than 1,000 online retailers.
Next issue: Wednesday, 13th May 2020.
Want to be on the exclusive mailing list for the next issue? Please contact:
Head of Content
+44 7414 633 197
Head of Brand
+44 7979 913 665
