When the national shutdown began in March of 2020, businesses were forced to close their doors amidst the uncertainty. Hundreds of thousands of employees, ranging from retail workers to food service personnel, were immediately without work. While the United States pushed the pause button on life, citizens were forced to figure out the new “normal” and cope amongst the unknown. Although most sectors of the economy were hard hit, some businesses remarkably saw drastic increases in their business.

One of the areas that saw a rapid increase in sales during the onset of the pandemic was the home gym arena. Companies such as Peloton saw their sales increase. In fact,
Peloton’s “company’s sales surged 66% from a year ago to $524.6 million” (CNBC). The trendy Peloton bike saw such a huge sales increase in part due to the closure of public and private gyms. People saw the closure of gyms as an opportunity to expand upon their home gym system, with the fear of gyms being closed looming indefinitely. 

Another company that has been positively impacted by COVID-19 is The Home Depot and other construction companies. Since many Americans have been stuck in their homes for months, they desired a change. Home improvement and private construction increased substantially since March of 2020. As a matter of fact, The Home Depot sales for the second quarter of this year were $38.1 billion (NPR), up drastically from last year. Studies have also shown that homeowners doing projects to their houses has increased by 66.9% since the start of the pandemic (BUSINESSWIRE). After families have redesigned their homes, they need furniture and home accessories. The popularity of the company Wayfair, which is known for its online home goods, has also skyrocketed 700% since March (BARRONS)! 

In addition, online-only companies have seen soaring profits since the start of the pandemic. Companies like Amazon have reached over 37% increases in their online sales and overall company production (THEGUARDIAN). One student, Natalie Waters (9), said “Since I can’t go out shopping, I am ordering from Amazon a lot more now than I used to!” The company has also opened over 100,000 new roles in the form of new employment opportunities to support people during these harsh times (ABOUTAMAZON). 

As a result of this horrible pandemic, companies have seen their bests and worsts. Supporting local business is more important than ever, as larger corporations have thrived. While no one knows for sure what the future will hold, some companies have capitalized on this uncertainty and seen huge profits. Hopefully, soon the tide will begin to turn, and once again companies big and small will prosper.