As we get used to the ‘new normal’, we take a quick look back at how people’s habits dramatically changed during the lockdown—a 2-minute read.

Recently The Sunday Times published a fascinating collection of statistics around how the lives of people in the UK transformed during lockdown.

We’ve broken it down into four sections – Health, wealth, happiness and of course, homes.

These national trends have been reflected across Cheshire.

*Figures are comparing April with March 2020 and sourced from John Lewis and the Office for National Statistics unless stated.

Health

With gyms closed and time on their hands people turned to exercising at home.

300% – The fitness app Strava saw a massive leap in usage.

72% – Rise in sales of sports shoes.

496% – The purchase of gym equipment surged.

Wealth

60% – Drop in withdrawals from ATMs.

£16.2 billion – Rise in household savings in April.

200% – The share price of video conferencing app Zoom rocketed this year. (Up to May 31).

Happiness

To keep our minds off you know what, we turned to:

240% – Board games and jigsaws proved hugely popular with soaring sales.

18% – An increase in online chats recorded by dating app OkCupid.

50% – Increase in sales of rose wine. *Source Majestic Wine.

76% – Rise in sales of sherry. *Source Majestic Wine.

Home

With more time spent at home, people have been turning to DIY and splashing out.

480% – Argos reported selling out of hot tubs, and eBay reported a massive spike in demand.

18% – On May 27 property portal Rightmove recorded its busiest ever day, up 18 per cent on the previous year.

74 % – Of households carried out some form of DIY during April and May according to Comparethemarket.com

At Storeys of Cheshire we’ve seen a surge in interest as the lockdown relaxes and people want to get moving again.

Of course, the most important and heart-breaking statistics during and after lockdown are the number of people who sadly lost their lives to this terrible illness.

Our thoughts are with their families and loved ones.

Thanks for reading, and if we can help you in any way, please get in touch.

Thanks,

Ian

07501723253 / [email protected]