I am a massive podcast fan and one of my favourites is The Indicator by Planet Money (NPR). They recently did a show on 5 unexpected/interesting trends that have come out of the US COVID experience. Not really a deal here but maybe some ideas for investing.
- Fake meat! Huge increase in sales. Sales have tripled in the last QTR (reported by Beyond). This is a combination of a desire for more variety (in cooking from home) and the price of meat increasing due to restrictions and safety.
- Ulta who sells Marlborough cigarettes has recorded higher sales than expected. Before pandemic sales were expected to fall 4-6% and now only going to fall 2-4%. Doesn’t seem like much but in a time where most people would reduce their social smoking others must have increased.
- Increase sales in outdoor recreation (camping) equipment. I guess the thought of being locked down must have urged people to get out while they can.
- Increase in used car sales. The average price increase was $700 (USD). Normally they have been trending down over a long period of time but their demand increased during the COVID period. You can see a similar thing in Australia if you have a look at Carsales.com.au share price (CAR.asx) which is now higher than before the pandemic.
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Caresales.com.au share price year to date
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- Increase in home energy bills across the board. This one is more expected but it is close to 10-20% higher depending on where in the US. Mine close to doubled through the COVID period with working from home. If you are looking for a way to reduce the cost of your electricity see my previous post here.
Short and sharp but some interesting food for thought.
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