The Weird Stuff We’re Buying On Amazon Gives Insight Into “The Quarantined Consumer”

It’s been a long time – perhaps in the whole history of online shopping – since “jigsaw puzzles for adults” was a top Amazon search query. Or for that matter, bread makers and bread-making yeast. But these are some of the most popular searches on Amazon.com, indicating that consumer needs have evolved rapidly in the past month. 

In its report “The Quarantined Consumer”, ecommerce analytics company Profitero identifies 7 consumer need states during the COVID-19 crisis, that can be broken into a Maslow’s Hierarchy-esque pyramid: Starting with survival, then ‘embracing quarantine’ to ‘making the most out of a crisis’. 

The first stage, survival, is typified by disinfecting and protecting items. “Consumers become paranoid germaphobes and do everything they can to prevent contagion,” says the report. Nutritional supplements, hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes. 

For consumers who are embracing quarantine, non-core kitchen equipment like bread makers, pizza ovens, and stand mixers are seeing higher search volume, according to the report, as consumers ‘insource’ culinary outputs that they’d previously rely on restaurants or grocers to provide. Those who are already at the self-actualization peak of the pyramid are investing in home gyms and fitness equipment. Fringe Sport, a manufacturer of crossfit-style gym equipment, reported a 4X increase in sales this year. Profitero also points to searches for bikes, rowers and workout apparel as spiking in recent weeks. 

But the popularity of the more utilitarian products like face masks and hand sanitizer has dropped in half in the past two weeks, according to research company Marketplace Pulse. “The lack of in-stock items is the reason for the drop,” the company says. In recent weeks Amazon has prioritized ‘essential’ items both for merchants who supply these items as well as in shipping times for shoppers. In some cases, Amazon hasn’t so far been able to restore the supply of out-of-stock items through its Vendor (wholesale) purchasing program, or through its extensive marketplace of third-party sellers. 

Products with unusually high search volume (relative to pre-March)

• puzzles for adults
• bidet
• LED strip lights
• aloe vera gel
• paint by numbers for adults
• jigsaw puzzles 1000 pieces for adults
• sidewalk chalk
• yeast for bread
• elastic bands for sewing

Some retail brands stand to gain from such significant changes in consumer behavior – notably those brands that sell products in these affected categories, as I wrote in a recent post for Forbes. The challenge for those brands is staying in stock, and ensuring profitability on their orders through adjusting their advertising efforts.  

Amazon analytics provider Dash Applications says that both advertiser and consumer demand has caused great fluctuations in the cost of Amazon advertising campaigns, across the 8 markets that the company tracks. “Shoppers went to Amazon to stockpile products up until about the 15th or 16th of the month and then calmed as the Stimulus package was announced and more information was released about COVID-19,” says Sam Hager, President of Dash Applications. “As volume fell, competition increased, and shoppers reduced the initial knee-jerk buying behavior,” Hager says, adding that many advertisers are not adequately coordinating their ad spend with demand from shoppers. 

Consumer shopping has so far gravitated between pure utilitarian ‘survival’ mode, to purchases of once-neglected categories like jigsaw puzzles and bread makers. As we ride out the social and economic roller coaster that the coronavirus has foisted upon us, there’s a chance we’ll see consumer demand push back to essentials once again.