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.

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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.

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