In January 2020 a novel virus was sweeping the globe, yet at the time the media reporting was fairly subdued. Swine Flu, MERS and Ebola had all at one time in the previous decade been signalled as catastrophic global pandemics that could end mankind, yet had all passed off with less than half a million deaths. Perhaps the media thought that Covid-19 would be much the same, unfortunately, they were wrong; by the end of March 2020, almost every country on the planet was in some form of lockdown to slow the spread of the virus.
At the time of writing, the global death toll for the virus stands at an appalling 7,111,892 according to the World Health Organization. The impact of Covid-19 has been felt beyond the number of fatalities too. It has left tens of millions of people with lifelong conditions, and also wreaked havoc on local and national economies as well as the global one.
In this article we take a closer look at the economic impact of Covid-19, analysing how it has changed and shifted the consumer landscape since it first reached these shores six years ago.
Retail and Land-Based Shutdown
In March 2020 all of Canada’s provinces and territories declared states of emergency in response to the first community transmissions of Covid-19. Whilst regulations varied from province to province, the main abiding theme was that all non-essential activities were shut down.
That meant barber shops, clothing outlets and casinos were all closed with people being forced to get their hair cut at home by a loved one, do their fashion shopping online and play roulette and poker from home. The COVID-19 lockdowns significantly boosted the online gambling industry as land-based casinos closed and millions of people stayed home.
With limited entertainment options, many turned to digital platforms for gaming and social interaction. Increased screen time, flexible work arrangements, and cancelled sporting events accelerated interest in online casinos, poker, and virtual sports. Operators responded with enhanced bonuses, improved mobile apps, and expanded live dealer offerings, driving record sign-ups and significant revenue growth.
However, this surge also attracted unscrupulous providers. As a result, review platforms like Casino.ca faced the challenge of identifying and thoroughly testing the best real money online casinos, and these are their recommendations to help players confidently avoid unreliable and potentially unsafe sites.
Naturally, Covid skewed almost every industry toward the online sector, with even traditional retail industries like bars pivoting to online by offering beer and wine deliveries to people’s doors. With lockdowns thankfully a thing of the distant past, that complete and total skewing toward the online sector has fallen away. Or has it?
(It’s incredible to think that this was just five years ago.)
The Lasting Impacts of Covid-19 on Industry
Before Covid-19 hit there was already a trend to online. A number of industries, such as the aforementioned gambling sector, were already fighting a losing battle trying to keep their customers coming to bricks and mortar establishments.
Likewise, clothing stores and almost every other retail store were struggling to keep up with the competition of online retailers, with shopping malls closing down on a regular basis. The lockdowns of Covid-19 seem to have merely accelerated the decline of these industries by introducing the allures of online shopping and entertainment to those last few demographics who had remained loyal to the land-based retail sector.
There was of course a bounce back after Covid, with people rushing to the store to take advantage of the novelty of being able to go outside, but since then things have levelled out. Demographics such as teens, who don’t have access to credit cards and want to be as far away from their parents as possible still prefer retail to online shopping.
It’s older demographics though, that are skewing more toward retail post-pandemic than they were prior to the emergence of Covid-19. Over half of 18-40-year-olds seem to prefer online shopping, with almost 42% of 40-65-year-olds sharing the same preference.
That’s a huge uptick from 2019 when the figures for both demographics were below 30%.
The Industries Most Likely to Benefit From Post-Covid Shifts
The aforementioned online casino gambling industry is one of the biggest beneficiaries of these Covid inspired changes in consumer habits. The total revenues for Canada’s online gambling sector are predicted to almost treble by 2030.
Other sectors that are doing well out of changing habits are the grocery and clothing sectors. It seems that many grew accustomed to food deliveries, and retail clothing therapy during the pandemic, and are reticent to go back to their old ways of fighting through the crowds and cramming themselves into cramped changing rooms.
To summarise, the industries that are doing the best out of changing consumer behaviours are those that can offer customers convenience and speed through digital integration. There are however, plenty of industries that seem resistant to the online shift.
Industries Showing Online Immunity
To keep the Covid theme going, there are a number of industries that seem to be displaying a natural immunity to the online world. These are largely those centred on entertainment.
The pandemic did many things, but one was to highlight to us the importance of socialisation and experiences. Since 2023, bars, theatres, and restaurants have all bounced back, even in the face of staggering increases in costs across the board.
That’s because despite the price, Covid-19 showed us that face to face interaction with other humans and memorable experiences are priceless.
