Unprecedented: The ongoing coronavirus pandemic is rapidly reshaping the daily lives that we've all grown comfortable with, forcing millions to work from home and forego public gatherings in an attempt to slow down its spread.
Public officials have been advising communities to participate in "social distancing" and based on some interesting data from analytics and intelligence firm Apptopia, people are indeed heeding the warnings.
Interest in grocery delivery apps has spiked in the US over the past few days as the seriousness of the coronavirus is starting to sink in. Just yesterday, for example, Walmart Grocery, Instacart and Shipt , which is owned by Target, all set new records for daily app downloads.
Comparing average daily downloads in February to yesterday's (March 15), Instacart, Walmart Grocery and Shipt have seen surges of 218%, 160% and 124%, respectively.
What does this mean for food delivery apps like GrubHub, Uber Eats, Postmates and DoorDash? Only time will tell.
Target's mobile app, meanwhile, has climbed to around 55K downloads over the last month.
All said, if you're elderly or are at risk, it's probably best to get someone else to do your shopping on your behalf like a trusted friend or family member or perhaps even a member of your church. If all else fails, look into one of the aforementioned grocery or food delivery service. Above all, you've got to eat!
Masthead credit: Groceries by Atstock Productions. Charts by Apptopia.