I was fascinated with a recent story about the Clorox company (CLX), which was among the first stocks that traders sought out when the initial wave of cleaning-supply hoarding began. Shares of Clorox rose more than $200 in 2020, but these gains have been wiped out, according to a story in Barron’s. The stock is now down 21% since the market’s pandemic lows and down 28% in the past year. You are probably not surprised, but you may wonder what other items or services surged during the pandemic’s height and may have fallen off now? Here are some interesting — and maybe surprising — data and projections:
The global toilet care products experienced a 20%-plus growth during the pandemic, but it is now projected to have only a modest increase of 3.52% during the forecast period of 2022-2027, according to mordorintelligence.com.
One might think that hand sanitizer sales have fallen apart. Not necessarily so. Hand sanitizer has an expected growth of 126% from 2019 to 2025, the fastest-growing segment in the over-the-counter pharmaceuticals market. The worldwide revenue of $3 billion in 2019 is expected to increase to $7 billion by 2025, according to statista.com.
Masks appear to be holding their own as well. The global face mask market size was valued at $6,792.0 million in 2019, and it is estimated to reach $9,052.1 million by 2027, according to alliedmarketingresearch.com.
Despite social media posts stating that pet shelters saw a “pandemic pet” boom, the American Veterinary Medical Association says the increase is exaggerated, as numbers of dogs and cats adopted from shelters in 2020 actually was a five-year low, according to Vin News Service. The stated reason is that a smaller pool of animals was available as fewer people relinquished their pets, and animal control was less active in picking up strays. Although shelters aren’t the only source of new pet adoptions, they are the primary source, according to the AVMA.
Here locally, Hy-Vee grocery stores recently laid off 121 employees in Iowa, mostly in its marketing, communications and technology departments at the company's corporate headquarters and a technology center due to investments they say were needed during the midst of COVID-19, as reported in The Des Moines Register and other sources.
As a prior boss of mine once said, “Figures lie and liars figure,” and a person can seemingly find data to support any point of view. Even so, the trends from the pandemic are becoming available now, and, like most things in life, they are not always what we may have expected.
Have a terrific Tuesday, and thanks for reading.
Shane Goodman
President and Publisher
Big Green Umbrella Media
shane@dmcityview.com
515-953-4822, ext. 305 | 
