By: Christina Danno, BEC Career Community Ambassador

The COVID-19 outbreak has left many businesses with no choice but to temporarily close or adjust to working remotely. However, a few industries have been impacted differently and have seen expansion because of it.

Gaming

Image: Nintendo EPD

Considering the amount of time people are now spending at home, gaming has become much more popular. For example, “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” which was released March 20, had one of its biggest launches to date. According to Digital Trends, it “is the game we need right now – and the one people are buying.” It is fun, yet relaxing, and allows gamers to play in real-time and participate in activities like fishing or planting flowers, which can help take away from the stress of not being able to leave your house all day.    

Video Conferencing

Another industry that has been doing well is remote conferencing services. For example, Zoom has become one of the top choices for connecting with coworkers while working from home. According to The Washington Post, it has become the third most downloaded app in the App Store this month. Its stocks reached an all-time high, doubling its price from last year. Not only are people using Zoom for work conferences, but also for online schooling, workout classes and even virtual movie nights with friends! 

Social Media

Further, social media seems to be the answer for those looking to stay connected with friends and keep up to date with all the latest news. Digital media outlets have seen consumption and user activity grow since the pandemic.

According to A.List, the company Obvious.ly analyzed data from over 2000 Tik Tok influencers and noticed engagement increased to 27 percent from February to March. In fact, many Tik Tok creators who have been on the app for a while have made funny videos mocking those who used to make fun of the app, but now are trying to go viral because of all the free time they have. Obvious.ly also studied Instagram and noticed ad posts had a 75 percent increase of likes over the past few weeks.

Sanitary Products

In addition to all these industries, the one that has shown the most obvious growth is safeguard health products. According to USA Today, sales of hand sanitizers, masks and gloves increased over 800% in just one month because of the outbreak.

With the fear of getting sick and catching germs, citizens are doing everything they can to protect themselves at all costs. Not only that, but toilet paper and Lysol products have also been sold out at many stores for weeks. Although many stores are restocking, they are putting a limit for certain products to keep from selling out so quickly once again.

For these industries, there is some positivity in the air. However, thousands of employees have been laid off because the companies they worked for had to shut down due to the pandemic.

According to Crain’s Chicago Business, Walgreens and CVS are planning to hire 60,000 employees. This includes delivery drivers, distribution center employees and customer service professionals. They will organize virtual job fairs and interviews, with an extra focus on hospitality workers since their industry has been having a tough time from the outbreak.

CVS is providing employees with bonuses from $150 to $500, and Walgreens, a one-time payment of $300 for full-time employees and $150 for part-time. Along with that, both companies are offering 25 days of child, elderly or adult-dependent care for employees, as well as paid sick leave.

For many, this may feel like a stressful time. But it is good to be reminded that there are companies working to help those that may need it, whether it be through entertainment, health & safety or expanded job opportunities.