Phase 4 of Pandemic Shopping: DIY

In a handful of weeks, the whole country has been introduced to many challenges that were previously solved by a trip to the grocery store. Since some of the daily basic luxuries are not available, creative replacements were quick to show up.

When this crisis started, every shelf of hand sanitizer gel and masks sat bare for weeks. Households turned to online to find solutions that could take the place of those needs unable to be purchased nearby.

While Movista uses FITFO (which is to figure it out, try new things and find the best way forward) as one of our company policies, millions of households around the country are now having to adopt that system as well. But the trends have shifted since those first few weeks at home. We have all perfected our stylish cloth facemasks but now searching for ways to fill the void created by social distancing.

Most recently we’ve seen new trends popping up for catering to daily needs, FITFO life hacks produced from creative boredom, and more downloads than ever of social media apps to feel connected.

The Needs

Even though we’re hunkered down at home, it’s still a goal to have life as close to normal. For some, it’s still business as usual. Having that needed workspace is just as important as it’s always been. Instead of loading up your entire office in the back of your vehicle, there’s plenty of resources around us to become temporary substitutes in the meantime.

Along with the work from home lifestyle there are also plenty of personal things that can be done to help preserve a sense of normalcy in our lives. DIY self-care trends have been showing up everywhere recently! Even though time has slowed down in life, our hair must have not gotten the memo. Now is the perfect time to play around with ideas you’ve always wanted to do with your hair. But with that exciting appearance change, people are very suddenly realizing that the trusty kitchen scissors aren’t the tool for the job. Views have skyrocketed on hair tutorials online as people follow the steps to work on their new look. Complete guides to the correct tools, cutting patterns, hair color dye tips and hairstyle ideas can be found in abundance for exactly what you’re needing. While you’re at it – take care of your nails, too! Just because the salon is currently closed doesn’t mean you can’t treat yourself!

Home brew recipes have started to be perfected for summer, funny sounding spices have started to show up in our cabinets to experiment at dinner time and even large companies like Amazon have stepped up to test new future-proof ideas, as well.

In the case of Amazon, their experiment may ultimately change an entire industry in the process. With the realization that people couldn’t go to the movies for a while, but they would be streaming content at home – they introduced “Prime Video Cinema Hub” which has brought the movie theater directly to your home! This new service allows homes rentals of new releases - movies that would have been shown currently in theaters. This may be the direct result that will shape the future of the movie industry.

Creative Boredom

There’s only so many times we can read the entire internet before getting a little stir crazy at home. Those guitars from many an attic have been brought down and dusted off. Now has become the perfect time to circle back around on the things we promised “we will get back to.” Old hobbies have been picked up again in the form of paintbrushes, guitar strings or maybe even an old clearance novel we forgot we “needed.” Plenty of households have been reminded that Monopoly takes all night to play and no one wins. Apps have shown up on our phones that we’ve only heard of in the past and now can’t look away from (talking about you, TikTok). Yet somehow there’s magic in these apps that remind us we aren’t alone in this. Everyone else has garnered mild cabin fever and are now wondering if tigers in Oklahoma are just a fever dream. But there’s specialness in that.

The things households and companies are currently “FITFO-ing” may start tipping the balance towards a “new normal.” We may come to see the changes we’ve made during pandemic end up becoming the prioritized way of doing things once this all clears. We are seeing weekly how companies have adjusted or retooled their normal way, and it’s exciting to think of the possibilities for the future if those next steps are taken to progress it more. If nothing else, once the curve has flattened, you may have found a lifelong hobby that was in front of your face the whole time!