Coronavirus Dominates Amazon Search

In March, most shoppers on Amazon looked for toilet paper, face masks, hand sanitizers, and other essentials, as well as items for working from home, at home sports equipment, and offline entertainment. However, most of the in-demand searches returned no items in stock.

Working from home has increased demand for webcams, computer monitors, and keyboards. Consumers are buying resistance bands, dumbbells, and yoga mats, as staying at home means working out at home too. Puzzles and board games provide entertainment, together with increased demand for Microsoft Xbox, Sony PS4, and Nintendo Switch gaming consoles.

Demand for essentials like toilet paper, hand sanitizers, paper towels, n95 face masks, and thermometers hasn’t decreased since the end of February. However, those searches no longer have any results with Prime shipping or even any items in stock. Despite that, consumers continue to look for those products, showing a wide gap between supply and demand.

Search Keyword Rank 3/22-3/28 Rank 3/15-3/21 Rank 3/8-3/14 Rank 3/1-3/7
toilet paper1 1 1 9
hand sanitizer2 2 2 1
paper towels3 3 8 42
n95 mask4 5 7 2
thermometer5 4 15 41
clorox wipes6 8 3 7
lysol spray7 10 6 16
puzzles for adults8 13 229 1268
thermometer for adults9 7 25 343
disinfectant wipes10 11 5 18
lysol11 14 14 32
nintendo switch12 38 72 43
vitamin c13 21 26 45
disinfectant spray14 29 32 77
toilet paper bulk15 6 4 603
face mask16 20 28 3
mask17 24 23 6
masks for germ protection18 19 27 8
hand soap19 15 12 53
charmin toilet paper20 18 21 361
bread21 16 49 262
baby wipes22 9 9 153
flour23 37 183 1970
lysol disinfecting wipes24 35 30 25
resistance bands25 46 376 315
puzzles26 42 568 2325
alcohol27 23 17 35
rubbing alcohol28 25 16 28
lysol wipes29 39 31 38
face mask medical30 28 29 17
n95 respirator mask31 41 51 22
rice32 12 24 72
puzzles for adults 1000 piece33 63 1026 4598
milk34 34 66 226
desk35 40 61 44
gloves disposable latex free36 60 120 703
clorox37 44 43 159
eggs38 47 130 601
dumbell set39 51 497 837
led strip lights40 84 75 39
office chair41 53 133 98
yoga mat42 78 234 157
scott toilet paper43 36 34 876
iphone 11 case44 59 36 11
gloves45 67 110 168
masks for germ protection n9546 65 71 201
webcam47 90 471 1768
wipes48 30 39 194
puzzle49 55 613 2390
laptop50 61 87 47
purell hand sanitizer51 26 11 5
bleach52 45 45 212
clorox disinfecting wipes53 52 44 135
aloe vera gel54 22 10 13
sanitizer55 31 13 12
paint by numbers for adults56 97 772 1330
disposable gloves57 96 162 240
lysol spray disinfectant58 80 58 493
bidet59 17 20 259
jigsaw puzzles 1000 pieces for adults60 136 1715 5799
isopropyl alcohol61 50 38 61
n9562 95 93 30
pasta63 27 37 198
1000 piece puzzles64 126 1651 6372
tylenol65 33 157 718
chicken66 58 112 670
board games67 70 251 552
sidewalk chalk68 221 1176 2059
airpods69 74 46 15
masks70 81 74 37
face mask n9571 92 82 94
disinfecting wipes72 86 47 76
purell73 43 19 4
lego74 105 164 118
easter candy75 213 848 1259
nitrile gloves76 127 197 215
latex gloves77 108 163 160
alcohol wipes78 64 40 69
surgical mask79 73 56 20
weights80 128 835 1091
yeast for bread81 123 925 8983
chromebook82 109 282 395
ipad83 111 128 52
monitor84 91 135 224
desk chair85 112 250 243
puzzles for adults 500 piece86 181 2598 13820
sanitizing wipes87 66 42 80
airpod case88 110 53 14
ice cream89 202 399 980
disinfectant90 130 107 679
elastic bands for sewing91 468 9410 10379
led lights92 170 185 89
coffee93 82 131 204
balloons94 166 143 57
cottonelle toilet paper95 104 73 1161
gaming chair96 157 147 54
chips97 119 200 720
food98 48 76 517
angel soft toilet paper99 75 67 2332
zinc100 121 118 279

An indicator of the supply gap is the Amazon Coronavirus Index. Despite the demand for essentials like face masks and hand sanitizers remaining stable, the index has dropped almost in half over the past two weeks. The lack of in-stock items is the reason for the drop.

Amazon has made changes to its operations to address the rapid demand increase of essential items, while other categories like clothing and shoes shrank. The company has prioritized in-demand items when receiving them at its warehouses, as well as increased delivery items for non-essential items. Yet, it hasn’t so far been able to restore the supply of out-of-stock items itself nor has been able to utilize the marketplace for it.

Amazon Coronavirus Index

“Our teams are adjusting, rapidly implementing a dizzying array [of] process and policy changes on a daily, and sometimes hourly basis,” wrote Dave Clark, Amazon’s senior vice president of worldwide operations, in a memo to employees. Some of those changes have sparked panic among the millions of sellers on its marketplace. Yet they weren’t foolproof to prevent bad actors from abusing it.

Share it:
Get data-driven insights about online retail

Juozas Kaziukėnas

Founder of Marketplace Pulse, Juozas wears multiple hats in the management of Marketplace Pulse, including writing most of the articles. Based in New York City. Advisor to other startups and entrepreneurs. Occasional speaker at conferences.

Get Data-Driven Insights About Online Retail