Consumer Behavior

Fashion, computers, health items top of mind for consumers

Photo by istock.com

May 21, 2020

The advent of COVID-19 is not only changing consumer shopping habits but also what they're looking to buy, according to ViaBill research data.

ViaBill, which offers merchants a no-interest buy now pay later shopping option, said data through the first quarter of the year reveals a 106% spike in fashion sales, a 50% increase in computer and accessories, a 34% jump in health and wellness products and a 16% boost in home and garden product purchases, according to a press release on the data.

"This data is interesting because it tracks consumer spending habits leading up to and at the beginning of the major COVID-19 sheltering that occurred here in the United States," said ViaBill North American President Kristian Niedoborski Thøgersen in the release. "The tens of thousands of transactions we track through our payment solution illustrate a need for consumers to maintain a sense of normalcy in their transactions — they are buying goods for home, they are purchasing health and wellness items and they are buying the kinds of fashion and beauty items they would get whether or not they’re sheltering in place."