The Philippine government’s order to stay home to stem the spread of coronavirus has driven demand for essential items such as food and household cleaners, as well as other consumer products like outdoor swimming pools, bicycles, and Wi-Fi adapters, among others.
Meta-search website iPrice Group revealed the products that gained popularity on e-commerce platforms of more than 100 merchants in the Philippines at the beginning of the enhanced community quarantine in March, comparing them with data from November 2019—a month before a COVID-19 case was first reported in China.
Inflatable swimming pools
Because many summer plans have been cancelled, impressions on kids’ outdoor pools increased, according to the e-commerce aggregator. Online searches rose by about 518 percent. “Thousands of Filipinos may be interested to look for alternative ways to keep their kids active and under the sun during the quarantine,” said the company.
Face masks for skin care
Demand for face masks has skyrocketed in the Philippines since the Taal Volcano eruption (which are also included in the list), but aside from this personal protective equipment, the other face mask—the one used for skin care—also gained popularity by 236 percent. Many home-based Filipinos, iPrice opined, are perhaps taking advantage of the time to pamper themselves.
Bicycles and dumbbells
The absence of public transportation has increased the interest in bicycles, with impression growth of about 97 percent. Moreover, Filipinos are looking for ways to keep active and fit at home, based on the 80 percent increase on interest in gym dumbbells.
Wi-Fi adapters and LAN cables
Work from home option has also driven the demand for fast and stable Internet connection. According to data, impressions on Wi-Fi adapters grew about 597 percent while LAN cables went 150 percent up.
Groceries
As Filipinos look for alternative ways to purchase essentials online, impressions on food items with a long shelf-life such as canned goods and biscuits also increased by 412 percent and 310 percent, respectively. The most search canned food brands included Delimondo, Purefoods, 555, and Century Tuna.
Further, demand for disinfecting multi-purpose cleaners also rose. Impressions on Domex immensely grew by 1,097 percent. While for disinfectant spray such as Lysol, interest expanded by 721 percent. Products with bleach, such as Clorox, Ariel, and Tide, increased by 172 percent.
Impressions on Corona beer immensely grew by 2,084 percent. However, iPrice Group concludes this has something to do with searches on the coronavirus instead of the beer brand itself.
COVID-19 essentials
Protective equipment such as medical face mask increased by 100 percent in March. Moreover, iPrice Group data show that as the demand for it increases, so does its price. Comparing prices between January and March, iPrice found that the average price of medical face masks (both 3-ply surgical and N95 masks) rose by nearly 86 percent.
Thermometers and vitamins each had notable growth in impressions in March. Impressions on thermometers grew by 1,295 percent, while vitamins’ impressions went up by about 123 percent. Demand for hand sanitizers and hand soaps also skyrocketed. Impressions on hand sanitizers increased by 2,207 percent, and on hand soaps by 989 percent.
