No question, 2020 and COVID-19 forced everyone to take a step back to reassess what really mattered – in business and in life.

A surprising effect of the pandemic is that several trends that had been happening in the background took center stage in national, even international, prominence.

The website VisualCapitalist listed several that they felt had the most impact:

Screen Life Takes Hold – In the ten years between 2008 and 2018, screen time usage on mobile devices increased by 12 times. Worldwide internet traffic was up 40-50% from 2019 to 2020 on every continent. And one key activity keeping us glued to our phones and devices is gaming. In April 2020, video game sales spiked nearly 70% over the previous year, and growth continued throughout the rest of the year even when lockdowns eased.

The Big Consumer Shake Up – E-commerce is exploding, and consumers are increasingly willing to spend more money if that offers them the ability to shop without having to speak or interact with a retail clerk. Using its Prime membership to grease those skids, Amazon’s subscription revenue grew from $5 Billion in Q3 2019 to $6.6 Billion just 12 months later.

And one final pandemi-trend:

The Flexible Workplace – Back in the olden days of 2019, over half of the companies that didn’t offer a flexible or remote working option cited company policy as the reason. They’ve been forced to rethink this in a big way as surveys show 98% of employees would now like to work remotely for at least part of the time – and for the rest of their careers. Therefore, 82% of company leaders plan to allow remote working at least some of the time as the pandemic eases and team members return to the office.

This has also had a significant effect on where people want to live – the exodus from the major cities/high-density population centers has begun, especially the pricier markets like Manhattan, Chicago, San Francisco, and LA. You can expect that to continue.

But the more things change, the more things stay the same – including the need for a solid, well-thought-out personal financial strategy. That’s what we’re here for! To book a quick (and free!) 15-minute call, reach us at 513-563-PLAN (7526) or book online.

Regards,
Nikki Earley, CFP®