Changes in Coffee Use
Since shelter-in-place orders began in the U.S. in mid-March, consumers have changed their morning coffee routine. GrubHub said its data indicates that Americans are seeking out a cooler start to their day, with orders of cold brew soaring by 232%.
Some Americans are also seeking out comfort foods and adult beverages while they stay at home. The spicy chicken sandwich is 353% more popular under quarantine, according to GrubHub. A red velvet cupcake is 196% more popular.
Orders of meal kits are up 55% in quarantine compared with a year ago. GrubHub says the most popular orders include do-it-yourself kits for burgers, lobster rolls, salads, pizzas and gyros.
Stores Closing/Opening
Bed Bath & Beyond plans to close about 200 stores over the next two years as its sales slid in the first quarter. The chain reported its quarterly sales dropped 49% due to temporary store closures amid the pandemic. Online sales soared 82%.
The Buckle is seeing improving sales as more of its stores reopen. The fashion retailer said Thursday that sales for the five-week period ended July 4 rose 26.8% from a year ago. Buckle began temporarily closing stores in mid-March. Since then, it's reopened 438 stores. It runs 446 retail stores in 42 states.
Big 5 Sporting Goods is also seeing a resurgence in its business since reopening stores. The sporting goods retailer's same-store sales dropped 28.2% in the first half of the second quarter with stores shuttered, according to preliminary data. However, the metric climbed 15.5% in the second half of the quarter as stores began reopening. For the entire fiscal second quarter, same-store sales declined 4.2% compared with a year earlier.
Clothing company Express has reopened about 95% of its stores as of Monday. The chain anticipates the rest of its store reopening in the coming weeks.
Express currently has ship from store capabilities at more than 330 locations and buy-online-pick-up-at-a-store service enacted at more than 275 stores. It plans to have buy online pick up at store service available at all locations by the end of the third quarter. Express has more than 500 retail and factory outlet stores in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.
