Deliveroo and Netflix experience coronavirus boost

Mounting consumer anxiety around the unpredictable spread of coronavirus is fueling a surge in demand for delivery and digital services, with Deliveroo and Netflix seeing a surge in demand as more people hunker down behind closed doors.

Food delivery and digital subscription services are benefiting the most from the outbreak according to a survey by payment provider Barclaycard, which recorded growth of 12.4% among subscription entertainment services such as Netflix and Now TV of 12.4%, while takeaways took off with sales growth of 8.7%.

The findings are derived from a consumer confidence survey carried out between 21 and 24 February by Longitude Research, with responses drawn from a representative sample of 2,005 UK consumers.

The broad picture of a shift to convenience was backed up by a separate study conducted by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) which charted a 1.8% slide in sales at non-food stores last month while their online counterparts jumped 3.6%.

Coronavirus consequences continue to ripple out with Facebook, Amazon and eBay forced to enact measures to more robustly police the sale of surgical face masks, hand sanitizer and loo roll amid panic buying.

The US Food and Drug Administration has also intervened to prevent the likes of Purcell from profiteering by blocking any overt mention of Covid-19 or even participating in wider conversations around preventative measures.

Coronavirus is expected to significantly impact global ad spend overall while accelerating existing moves toward utility, e-commerce and live-streaming.

source: https://www.thedrum.com/