The spread of the coronavirus has many consumers turning to online options to shop for groceries, and one company in particular saw a huge increase in sales as a result.
According to figures from 1010data, Walmart had nearly $900 million in online grocery sales in March, up 21% from the previous month and 99% higher than the previous year.
The number could have been even higher if not for some products being out of stock, according to the data. Orders averaged about $127 in the days following President Donald Trump’s March 11 Oval Office address on the coronavirus. That figure represented an 11% increase over the previous average order.
But within two weeks, the average order dropped to $98 as customers shopped for many items that were out of stock due to an increase in demand.
Several categories saw marked increases in sales over the previous month: hand sanitizer sales were up 307%; alcohol sales increased 143$; cough and cold medicine sales were up 116%; sales of toilet paper were 133% higher.
Other companies have also experienced an increase in demand due to the boost in online shopping. Online retailer Amazon is also experiencing out of stock issues and is prioritizing shipment of “essential items that our customers need the most,” and warns customers of potential shipping delays on other items.
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