1. More people shop online.
Before the pandemic, many people shopped in a physical store rather than online. For some people, shopping is perceived as a way to relax or spend time socialising with friends. Unfortunately, the virus forced the government to shut down all non-essential shops. Now as a result of a national lockdown, people have no option but to shop online for non-essentials. This might also affect the way some people will shop post lockdown.
2. People use more fitness apps to exercise and stay healthy.
With gyms and other sports facilities closed, more people use technology to help them stay active. People sign up for virtual fitness classes over zoom calls and workout at home or garden. This also creates more users for other fitness apps like pre-recorded exercise guides, dieting and, calorie counters, and more.
3. Video conference calls are part of the daily routine to ‘get things done’ during the pandemic.
Whether it is work, school, or even social calls, video conference meetings have experienced a major surge in users during the pandemic. Some companies heavily rely on this technology to organise day-to-day activities. During lockdown, people cannot meet each other in person. The result of this is that more people are getting accustomed to video conferencing apps and programs to ‘meet’ others.
4. Entertainment streaming services are the new cinemas.
Now more than ever, streaming services and other online entertainment platforms are experiencing a surge in users. As cinemas are closed and the movie industry has experienced a hard hit by the pandemic, more and more content is being streamed on subscription-based platforms to generate revenue for the industry. As this digital platform is taking over, this might be the end of cinemas or even TVs for good as the streaming services are rapidly growing and taking over.
5. Takeaways are the new restaurants.
Friday evening dinner in a nice restaurant or a Sunday Carvery lunch with friends and family? Not anymore. Until the lockdown restrictions are eased, people will have to rely on home-cooked meals or ‘takeaways’. This is another way how the lockdown has affected society. More people tend to order ‘takeaway’ to substitute the now restricted restaurants. It is positive for the ‘takeaway’ businesses as they might gain more loyal customers even after lockdown.
6. Education
Just like work and fitness, education has been impacted by the lockdown. No people on campus, no face-to-face classes. All the educating is now restricted to online platforms and services. Schools now educate students through video conference platforms. There are even websites for people to share their skills with others to learn. However, some fields might be suffering as they might require face-to-face education. For example, a pottery class might not be as easy when learning from a video as it would be in a class where the teacher can demonstrate different techniques in real life.