The COVID-19 pandemic changed people's spending habits almost overnight, but now that stay-at-home measures are lifting things have changed once again. Click or scroll through to see what Americans were buying at the height of the pandemic compared to what they're adding to their shopping carts now.

Face masks quickly became mandatory, and as a result sales surged. Online marketplace Etsy sold more than 12 million masks in April 2020, as vendors quickly pivoted to producing homemade face coverings. In fact, of the four million new shoppers that joined Etsy in that month, 25% bought a mask. This trend is now in decline, however, and could completely drop off as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced earlier this month that face masks were no longer mandatory for those who had been fully vaccinated. 

Now that masks are coming off, Americans have been keen to make sure their smiles are in tip-top condition. Walmart has reported a flurry of sales of teeth whitener in the most recent quarter as people prepare to dazzle with their pearly whites at social gatherings.

Hand sanitizer quickly became like gold dust when news of a highly infectious virus hit the global headlines. Amazon, Walgreens and Walmart all sold out of antibacterial gels and sprays online, and the spike in demand prompted a huge hike in prices. One UK-based Amazon seller was selling a bottle of Defendol hand gel, which would normally retail at £3.49 ($4.49), at an astounding £109.99 ($140), CNBC reported. Having emerged from the sanitizing frenzy, and the pungent sterile smell that came with it, shoppers are now after something with a less clinical aroma…

In 2020 fragrance sales were down by 8% compared to the previous year, according to NPD Group, as shoppers saw no need to smell good just to sit at home. But now we’re spending less time indoors, perfume retailers have noticed a bounce in sales as Americans are keen to get their spritz on and smell good ready for the return to normality.

As the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Americans became more conscious of their cleaning routines. Last year, one of the world’s biggest household cleaning product companies, Procter & Gamble, recorded a 9% rise in net sales in the first quarter, followed by an 8% increase in the second quarter. Aerosol disinfectants were particularly popular when it became clear that COVID-19 was an airborne disease, and there was a 385.3% increase in sales in March 2020 compared to the same period the previous year, according to Statista data.

Now that their homes are spotless, Americans are upping the ante when it comes to their own personal hygiene too. Last year there was a slump in antiperspirant sales, according to Unilever, but smelling fresh is back on the menu as socializing makes a comeback, and deodorant sales have soared.

As beauty counters slammed down the shutters when the COVID-19 pandemic took over, many went makeup free for their days at home. But Americans didn't neglect their appearance completely, and skin care sales picked up, growing more than 22% in the first half of 2020 compared to 2019. In fact, skin care had the biggest share of prestige beauty sales between March and June according to Jensen, overtaking makeup.

Makeup sales have bounced back now that Americans are readying themselves to replace cozy nights in with big nights out. Target has reported a strong demand for cosmetics in recent weeks, with lipstick the top-performing item. Across the board lipstick sales were up 80% between mid-March and mid-April this year compared to the same period in 2020, according to market research firm IRI.

Unable to go to hair salons, people became their own stylists during the coronavirus crisis. Last year, sales of Madison Reed’s at-home color kits skyrocketed by an incredible 750% compared to March of the previous year. While some have enjoyed the cost-cutting nature of shaping their locks themselves, others breathed a huge sigh of relief when salons reopened...

After months of split ends, faded colors and gray roots, many Americans couldn’t get back into the salon chair quick enough. The Wall Street Journal also reported that customers were spending more money when they did finally get an appointment, with one salon reporting that tips were up to between 25% and 30% per customer, compared to the standard 20% pre-pandemic.

No longer having to leave the house for work, suits and ties were quickly abandoned for more comfortable trackpants and sweatshirts. Online sales of pajamas also saw an incredible 143% surge in April 2020, compared to the previous month, according to Adobe Analytics. Even if people did decide to dress up, it was typically only the clothes that would be visible on a video call – Adobe also reported a 13% drop in pant sales over the same period.

Emerging from the world of working and socializing through a screen at home, Americans are starting to buy real clothes again. Madewell and Anthropologie both reported a surge in dress sales in March, and Bonobos saw increasing numbers of men in the market for suits, dress shirts and tuxedos. There’s also been a shift in the aesthetic shoppers are going for, with more people gravitating towards bright colors and vibrant patterns than pre-pandemic.

When gyms shut, Americans rushed to buy home fitness products to stay in shape. New York fitness retailer Syracuse saw a 625% spike in sales, while Colorado’s Rep Fitness reported more sales in a single day than it would typically make in a month. One US brand that soared to new heights globally was high-tech fitness bike company Peloton, which announced in September that it had seen a 172% surge in sales in the most recent quarter.

Americans haven’t ditched fitness now that the world is opening up – quite the opposite, in fact. Around 42% of Americans have gained undesired weight during the pandemic, according to data from the American Psychological Association, while 18% reported undesired weight loss, suggesting that many are keen to hit the treadmill and weight rooms. As a result, people are splashing out on activewear, according to Target, as they prepare to exercise in gyms and public spaces rather than at home.

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The world went wild for old-fashioned entertainment in 2020, and Ceaco, one of the largest game manufacturers in the US, reported a 300% increase in jigsaw sales in the second week of March 2020 compared to the same period in 2019. Board games saw a similar surge in popularity as people opted to live through games such as Monopoly and The Game of Life when their own lives were put on hold, according to Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner.

But now that people have started living life in the real world again, rather than waiting out their days on board game squares, it’s boarding passes that have come into vogue. Delta airline president Glen Hauenstein reportedly said that he was “very pleased with the pace of demand recovery” and that bookings had been “better than expected”, while American Airlines anticipated in March that it would need to reactivate most of the jets it parked last year to cope with renewed demand.

As work video calls regularly displaying the home office to colleagues, many Americans used periods of lockdown to spruce up their interiors. Sales at retailers such as Lowe’s flourished and the average American spent $402 in Home Depot in 2020 as homebound DIY projects became a popular hobby.

With rooms redecorated and gatherings now allowed, Americans are splashing out on party decorations to make their homes celebration-ready. April saw Walmart’s balloon sales increase by 50% compared to the same period last year, while partyware sales more than doubled, according to one of the retailer’s spokespeople.

Few people didn’t succumb to the baking buzz during lockdown, and supermarket shelves reflected the hype. Yeast sales spiked by 647% in the week ending 21 March 2020 compared to the same week in 2019, according to Nielson data, while keen home cooks also felt the effects of a global flour shortage.

Americans were quick to throw down their whisks and mixing bowls when restaurants reopened, as diners were lured in by the prospect of having somebody else do the cooking. In March there was a marked increase in use of the reservation platform OpenTable compared to mid-December, the Wall Street Journal reported, while restaurants and bars saw sales boosted by 13.4% in March compared to the previous month, according to the National Restaurant Association.

When stay-at-home rules came into force, many turned to streaming platforms such as Netflix to pass the time. Pre-pandemic, the average American subscriber spent two hours a day using Netflix, but that rose to 3.2 hours once restrictions had kicked in, according to Nielson. Globally the service took on 15.8 million new subscribers in 2020 but the company's stock price is starting to tumble as subscriber growth slows and people have more choice in terms of how to spend their free time.

From whiling away the hours to keeping a close eye on the time, Americans have been stocking up on alarm clocks now that they have a whole host of social occasions to get out of bed for. Sales doubled in April 2021 compared to the same month last year, according to a spokesperson from Target.

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