Hawke Media Special Report: August 6, 2020

November 4, 2020

There’s a tsunami of housing insecurity headed for the United States. One that will leave millions homeless as moratoriums on evictions have ended in about 30 states with others soon to follow.

There are nearly 30 million unemployed people in the US right now. Many of whom depend on extended unemployment benefits that dried up on July 31st while congress goes back and forth delaying provisions for an extension in the next stimulus package.

In less than 30 days, the 12 million renters in federally subsidized housing and with federally backed mortgages will be left unprotected, not to mention those renters and homeowners who aren’t under the scope of these programs.

In just Los Angeles County, 495,000 households are at risk when the local moratorium on evictions ends September 30th while the local government scrambles for a solution.

Many are calling on the government to provide rent relief and some to cancel rent altogether while the country faces this unprecedented threat. Especially since these evictions will disproportionately affect black and latino households.

This is a massive threat to the economy at large for the simple fact that if people are evicted their contribution will likely diminish significantly.

Consumer Trends

Sentiment

People in the United States are increasingly insecure about financial stability as the pandemic drags on and the economy struggles. Searches related to rent and mortgage relief have increased by nearly 5,000% MoM in some cases.

Real GDP growth dropped 32.9% in Q2 2020, adding to the uneasiness about a looming financial crisis brought on by the pandemic.

Buying Power

Interestingly, Baby Boomers have increased their digital spending by almost 50% through the pandemic.

The previous figure becomes even more illuminating when taken alongside the buying power and financial security of this age group.

Baby Boomers hold over half of household wealth in the United States and will still be able to purchase in a recession.

Subscriptions

Subscriptions have increased 51% overall during the pandemic.

Pet supply subscriptions, in particular, have seen a stunning increase of 279%.

In a survey of nearly 3500 respondents, many report spending more time working out and playing games.

Business Trends

eCommerce

Due to the pandemic, US eCommerce growth beat projections by 14.4%, surging to 29%.

Retail

Retail sales rebounded 7.5% in June as the country was poised to reopen before recent spikes dampened efforts.

Category Relativity

This chart from Deliverr displays the performance of various product categories in different online marketplace formats, expressed in “velocity”, scored in decreasing intervals from 1 to x. Each platform is only scored relative to itself.

For example, baby products are much less successful on eBay than personal care products.

It also shows us where to expand next, so if you’re selling personal care items and want to diversify (as many eComm sellers must), you’ll want to go to Shopify next and then eBay. If you’re selling health products on Amazon, you want to get on Walmart next. If you’re selling Patio and Garden items on Amazon, you should start selling on Wish next.

Advertising

Podcast advertising is projected to reach upwards of $1 billion in 2021 as the medium grows in popularity and the landscape continues to expand.

B2B

Consumers interested in B2B products are migrating to video as a means to drive purchasing decisions.

Short-form video is the winning format as consumers watch more, but for shorter periods of time.

Spotlight: Cannabis

Cannabis consumers are shifting their buying trends. Many are purchasing earlier in the week as weekends begin to lose significance in the proportion of cannabis sales.