The pandemic has exacted an unspeakable toll on people – on individuals, families and social structures. It’s essential to note that fact at the outset, before exploring its impact on businesses. Even in discussions about the financial and organizational influences of COVID-19, it’s essential to remember the human toll.
Nevertheless, with three years of hindsight and retrospection, we can also look at the positive impacts of this unprecedented era. This article explores industries that – by some shift in demand, embrace of new technology or simple repercussion of the pandemic – have thrived in the last three-plus years. The global pandemic indelibly changed the world. For these industries, that change was for the better.
Education: The Rise of Online Learning
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Early in the pandemic, several school systems shifted their learning online. This proved a mixed bag for traditional schools, which – up until that point – had near-zero experience leveraging online platforms for effective learning.
It did, however, benefit existing online schools. In 2020, E-learning had been around for about a decade (maybe longer, depending on who you ask). In that time, practitioners and online educators had honed their approach, offering engaging multimedia courses, self-paced models and robust student support structures. When the pandemic struck, several students eschewed their traditional brick-and-mortar schools to take online courses with an established e-school.
The result? Even now, we’re seeing a significant share of students migrate to online schools. At the same time, established, ministry-inspected online schools continue to improve their offerings, potentially ushering in a new era of education.
Real Estate: Skyrocketing Sight-Unseen Sales
When governments implemented their first stay-at-home orders, real estate agents had to think fast. The real estate industry wasn’t particularly tech-forward at the time, but it had no choice. And to the credit of some quick-acting practitioners, the industry found solutions in virtual reality, videoconferencing, 360-degree photography and social media. Suddenly, agents could show homes without physically connecting with clients.
This phenomenon had a knock-on effect in real estate, spurring a significant spike in remote, “sight-unseen” sales. As more people migrated out of cities, technology allowed them to tour a home confidently without ever stepping foot in it. Now, even as the pandemic wanes, the industry continues to leverage immersive technologies – and markets continue to flood with remote buyers.
E-Commerce: The Remote Shopping Boom
It’s plain to see how e-commerce succeeded in the last three years. According to official stats, e-commerce rose sharply during the pandemic, mainly in response to social distancing and stay-at-home recommendations. And while e-commerce sales have dipped slightly since then, they remain well above their pre-pandemic levels.
Food Delivery: The Apps Take Over
Ghost kitchens, cloud kitchens, commissaries and UberEATS were well-known concepts before the pandemic. But they really took off in early 2020. In some sense, delivery apps weren’t all that revolutionary. They simply took a model that had existed for decades – ordering delivery – and moved it online in a centralized app.
The idea proved enormously popular during the pandemic. Now, you’d be hard-pressed to find many restaurants in urban centers that offer in-house delivery services. The apps took over. And depending on who you ask, that was a boon for restaurants struggling over the past few years.
Can you think of any other industries positively impacted by the pandemic? Use the comments section to share your thoughts.