Here’s what people are buying the most during the pandemic, according to survey

It’s safe to say our shopping habits changed in a number of ways because of the pandemic.

Incomes fluctuated with the unstable job market; in-person shopping initially became more complicated, pushing more people to shop online; and people’s needs changed as many stayed at home for long periods of time.

And many people were certainly bored during those months in lockdown.

We asked our WDIV Insiders about what they’ve been purchasing the most during the pandemic, what their biggest purchases were, and if they have any retail regrets. Most survey respondents, 84.9%, said they didn’t have any regrets about what they’ve been purchasing.

Here’s what else we found.

What people are buying

It probably comes as no surprise that the most popular pandemic purchases were related to home improvement and food, especially with so many people working or learning from home instead of in person.

Out of the more than 250 viewers who responded to the survey, 114 said they spent money on home improvement tools and projects. Many respondents also said they were spending money on carry out and meal prep services.

Clothes, housewares and furniture were also popular products among our respondents. The least popular items among the options we provided? Gaming consoles.

Below is a breakdown of what people said they’ve been buying.

Though in-person shopping became more complicated, it didn’t become less popular, according to our survey results.

A majority of our viewers, 45%, said they’ve been primarily shopping in person during the pandemic. Still, a significant portion of respondents, 40.6%, said they’ve been mostly shopping online.

Only 14.3% said they’ve been primarily shopping using the curbside pick-up option.

And it seems that most consumers have been happy with their purchases: A majority, 79.3%, said that they haven’t really been returning items purchased during the pandemic.

Big pandemic purchases

More than half of our survey takers, 60.6%, said that they made a big purchase during the pandemic.

We asked our viewers to be more specific about what “big purchase” they made -- here are the most common responses we received:

• A new or used vehicle
• Home/furniture repairs or upgrades
• A treadmill
• A TV
• Outdoor gear, like grills and fire pits
• A puppy

When we asked survey respondents to tell us their favorite and least favorite pandemic purchases, their answers were all over the map. Still, there were some responses that were more common than others.

Here are the top answers for each question:

• Favorite pandemic purchase
  • Technology: TVs, laptops, tablets, entertainment equipment
  • Furniture
  • Pets
  • Vacations
• Least favorite pandemic purchase
  • Expensive groceries
  • Too much alcohol
  • Carry out
  • Clothes

Related: Grocery shopping? How to buy healthy and save money at the same time