As people have been sitting at home during this quarantine, it is not uncommon for them to notice every aspect of their home that they wish to be different. When you spend all of your time around that fridge with a dent in it, in a kitchen where you don’t like the cabinets, or in a house where you don’t have enough space for the food you need to feed everyone, it’s a lot harder to want to push off a remodel. This desire for an update or change may be what has caused an unusual shortage in appliances across the United States. Let’s take closer look at this appliance shortage!
National Purchasing Trends
According to the CEO of Lowe’s, Marvin Ellison, “As customers are sheltering in place, they’re looking at that deferred list of home projects.” Essentially, he means that people are realizing that there are things that they have put off fixing that need to be fixed now that they are spending more time at home.
Aside from appliances that people simply may not like the look of, people are purchasing extra refrigerators and water heaters to accommodate more people spending more time at home. More food is being stocked up on, and more hot water is needed for showers, washing hands, and cooking when there are more people in a single household due to older family members moving in as well as college students who are home from school. This is why appliance stores like Lowe’s are seeing increases in appliance sales all across the country.
In addition to this, families are now eligible for government distributed stimulus checks that equate to $1,200 per eligible individual. This means that families now have funding for new appliances or home renovations that they may not have been able to fund before the pandemic. The excess of time spent at home also paves the way for such improvements to be made in homes across America during these times.
Reduced Stock
With a greater number of people making appliance purchases, stores are bound to see a reduction in the supply of appliances. Considering the fact that refrigerators, ovens, and washing machines cannot be manufactured overnight, it may become harder to find such appliances should you need one as the pandemic continues. To add to that fact, many appliances are manufactured in other countries where COVID-19 has frozen the production of items that are typically exported. The United States has also placed limitations on products that are allowed to be imported as well as completely cutting off ships that originate from epicenters of the Coronavirus. This limits the number of appliances available, and combined with high demand for appliances, the obvious result is a shortage in household appliances.
Closing Thoughts
The Coronavirus has had a number of impacts on many parts of people’s lives, but one that people may not have expected was a shortage of appliances. Upon a closer look at why appliance stores are running low, it is clear why people are both in need and want of new refrigerators, washers, and dryers and why there is a shortage of such items.
