The year 2020 has been a year many will want to forget. While we were celebrating the new year, we had no idea it had this much in store for us. The major highlight so far has been the COVID-19 outbreak. To help curb the spread of the virus, the government ordered a lockdown.
Although the lockdown helped in reducing the spread of the virus, it came at a high cost. A lot of businesses had to temporarily shut down their operations. Some resumed when the lockdown was over while others never recovered. However, there were a number of businesses that fully operated even during the lockdown.
Supermarkets and Shops
Source:which.co.uk
The total lockdown affected almost everyone except “essential workers.” Essential workers are individuals who provide basic survival services like food, water and healthcare services. Fortunately for supermarkets like Walmart, they fall into this category and did not need to stop operations.
During the lockdown, they remained open and provided food items to individuals who needed them. However, some important measures were taken. Health measures like handwashing equipment and sanitizers were made available. Customers as well as staff had to observe social distancing. Not all the staff came to work every day. Yet big supermarkets like Walmart and Aldi have done incredibly well.
Delivery Service Companies
Source:hospitalityinsights.ehl.edu
Delivery services companies did not shut down or suspend operations during the lockdown. As a matter of fact, their business blossomed. The reasons are somewhat obvious. The lockdown was ordered to get people off the streets and limit the spread of the virus. The fact that movement stopped does not mean that the need for movement was restricted. People still needed to run certain errands. They still needed to buy food, to send certain items to people and so on.
Delivery service companies like Dominos Pizza had their hands full. They became the necessary food providers for the people ordered to stay at home. They made sure that people had what they wanted without having to leave their apartment. Just like the supermarkets, delivery service workers also had to take safety measures. The use of face or nose masks was compulsory. Also, items to be delivered were properly sanitized.
Amazon and Other E-Commerce Stores
Source:geekwire.com
Amazon is arguably one of the biggest shops in the world. This is actually a virtual shop with lots of warehouses. They are the online equivalent of land-based supermarkets. During the lockdown, people still used items like mobile phones, toiletries and other household items. Although they were allowed to go out and get essential items, not everyone was comfortable going outside. Consequently, they preferred shopping from online stores like Amazon.
All they needed to do was browse through the e-commerce store, select what they wanted and have it delivered to their doorsteps. The delivery is usually done by delivery personnel. This goes to remind you how much delivery services worked during the lockdown.
Like delivery service companies, Amazon also ensured that the necessary safety measures were taken. Sanitizing of packages before delivery, the use of protective gear by members of its staff and other required measures.
Online Casinos
Source:techradar.com
According to casino comparison sites like this one, more people gambled during the lockdown. During the lockdown, people became bored with staying at home and not going out. It seemed very difficult adjusting to this new routine. People had to look for a way to pass away time.
Gambling has dual benefits as you can have fun and make money it. People saw this opportunity and began to delve into gambling. The lockdown affected everything including sporting and lottery events. However, the betting industry managed to keep its players occupied.
Online casinos like Dafabet became rampant and more people began to play at online casinos. Unlike other forms of gambling, online casinos did not rely on live events. They needed gaming software to continue operations. Sophisticated casinos also used this period to promote their virtual games where people can play against each other in real time.
Online casinos did not need to do much in terms of safety measures as technology did most of the work. They only had to ensure that underage people were not signing up to play online casino games.
Netflix and other Streaming Providers
The boredom really got to people during this lockdown. It is not easy to suddenly adjust to sitting at home all day. Having to go from always doing something to almost doing nothing. People had to keep themselves occupied. Movies are a great way to do so. It was not long before people started watching movies as they had so much time to spare. They could not go to cinemas as this was against lockdown procedures. However, Netflix and other entertainment streaming providers brought the cinema to their homes.
The lockdown saw an upward surge in the number of subscribers Netflix has. They used their smart televisions and enjoyed premium entertainment in their homes. In addition, Netflix’s support for the #BlackLivesMatter movement also made more people subscribe to their services. As people enjoyed the free subscription, they also opted for premium services.
