While 2020 was a terrible year for countless people, it was not a bad year all around for certain businesses, industries, and the people involved with them. It was the year that has brought more than just a couple of opportunities to a wide range of industries that might have seen their end in a couple of years.
Covid-19 was also responsible for the death or partial collapse of some industries, but today we are taking a closer look at those that either managed to break through or were helped by the virus itself.
Here are six of the business markets that boomed in 2020 despite – or because of – the COVID-19 pandemic! These 6 major markets and industries continue to boom as well in 2021 and 2022 for a lot of the same reasons, some even thriving into 2023.
Personal Protective Equipment Market
It goes without saying that probably the biggest winner of 2020 is the market responsible for personal protective equipment – or PPE. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, only a couple of Asian countries would wear masks on a regular basis. Moreover, they were not wearing medical-grade masks, but dust-proof ones, against pollution and not Coronavirus.
Nowadays, on the other hand, everybody that wants to keep themselves safe and prevent any type of infection wears a proper facemask. In fact, certain studies and statistics show that a certain percentage of the people kept on wearing masks even if the restrictions in their country were lessened.
In the end, given that the modern world will never be the same after the pandemic, it is very likely that the 160% increase in PPE demand in 2020 is not the end nor the peak for this market. We are still dealing with more Covid-19 fallout and virus mutations such as Delta and Omicron in 2021 and 2022 that warrant more protective equipment and vaccines.
E-Learning Platforms Exploded
If you spent your fair share of time on social media and such, you have probably noticed an increase in sponsored ads related to online learning platforms, regardless of theme or topic.
As schools closed, we saw a rise in the demand for comprehensive online study platforms, course platforms, digital textbooks, and anything related to remote learning. In fact, we could admit that the entire e-learning platform market has boomed solely because universities, colleges, and secondary schools were forced to move their activity to the online environment.
Then, thanks to the free time gained by the lack of commute, students and adults alike began to look more into e-learning platforms that help them develop their hobbies – among the most popular courses on the Internet we have included the top ways to boost your Instagram followers fast and other social media marketing courses.
E-Commerce Is The New Brick And Mortar Store
A lot of people have lost their job because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Among these, plenty of them are artists, painters, sculptors, handymen, and handmade artists. Even though they lost their place at the corner boutique, their world expanded drastically once they got introduced to e-commerce.
On top of that, the variety of e-commerce platforms even made it easier for people to sell and buy things online! Now, everything you could think of can be delivered to you online, with a simple click.
If you want a souvenir all the way from Mexico to remind you of your recent trip there, then you will most likely find a local artist that can sell it to you. It goes without saying that e-commerce is now one of the leading markets when it comes to shopping and selling – online retailers now have the upper hand.
Freelance Platforms Are The New Source of Income
We mentioned that many people lost their jobs – not all of them were artists and other less stable professions. Some of them were programmers, writers, analysts, and so on.
Those same people found their new job on a freelance platform, most likely. Why did they find new careers and side hustles on freelancing platforms?
Well, let’s take a look at some Upwork statistics – this platform being the best on the market when it comes to freelance opportunities. During 2020, the revenue of this platform grew 24% and its GSV grew by 23%. On the other hand, platforms like Freelancer and Fiverr have just announced that they broke the 50 million users mark.
That is big for freelance platforms and the freelance market because more and more people have switched to a remote lifestyle – even those that are still employed. Moreover, thanks to these platforms, making some money on the side is also easier, given the multitude of security systems they have in place.
Online Food Delivery Is Better Than Restaurants
Even now, when most countries have opened their restaurants, people would still order online rather than risk Covid-19 infection or such. Overall, roughly 40% of people now use any of the online, take-out, pick-up, or curbside food delivery services in the favor of in-location food serving.
In short, people simply skip going to the restaurant. Is this bad for the market? Well, not at all. Given the increase in the number of orders, restaurants and fast foods offering online deliveries must now step up their product quality.
At the same time, food delivery services like UberEats – that have been around for quite some time – are now extremely popular and profitable for small business owners. On top of that, the increase in demand also increased the number of job openings in the delivery sector.
Bikes And E-Bikes Are Back In Style!
Surprisingly enough, bikes and other types of man-powered vehicles are now back in style. People are now buying scooters, bikes, skateboards, e-bikes, and so on, more than they did in the past couple of years – when some of these gadgets hit the market. Why?
Well, because they need an alternative to public transportation, which is not 100% safe anymore. As such, even though staying at home is a key aspect of this pandemic, people soon realized that riding a bike is not illegal and helps them respect the social distancing guidelines.
Naturally, this is great news for bike and e-bike manufacturers as they are now a bit more popular than fancy car brands. Only time will tell if this trend continues, with more people going back to the office, workplace, or school each month.
Other Industries With Great Growth During Coronavirus
There are many other markets that have grown during the Covid-19 crisis, we can’t mention all of them. Some of the markets that have experienced great growth include pharmaceuticals, personal computers, athleisure wear, alcohol, CBD, cryptocurrencies, healthcare, direct to consumer products, cleaning products, streaming services, pet products, and rural / suburban real estate just to name a few benefiting business niches.
The Bottom Line On Business Booms And Busts
Obviously, these aren’t all the markets that boomed in 2020 all the way through early 2023. A closer look at this IFS Markets review and at the trading opportunities they have available show us that the Forex and trading market has also seen exceptional growth.
This is pretty much the trend of the pandemic-caused booms: everything that is online-related saw an increase and some brick-and-mortar markets that you didn’t expect to boom might have also boomed! And even the retailers that busted have seen resurgences with stock prices soaring or purchases from new investors out of bankruptcy.
With every tragic event, there are always businesses and industries that benefit. And there are businesses that survive and thrive by adapting to their new economic environment. Only time will tell which businesses will grow or slow as the Covid-19 vaccination and recovery continue in 2023.
