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More Americans plan to move this year because of the flexible lifestyle at home that the Covid-19 pandemic introduced, market researcher The NPD Group said in a recent blog post.
Nearly 20 percent of people in the country have been working full-time at home since December and 28 percent of Americans have considered moving during the pandemic, the NPD said. In addition, 20% more consumers plan to move this year compared to the previous year.
NPD comments come as the winter winds down and the peak months for the move, May through September, are ahead.
As people become more comfortable with the ability to work from anywhere, they realize that they do not have to be fixed in a certain location near an office to insure themselves or their families. This gives them the opportunity to live in an area with a lower cost of living or that is closer to family, NPD said.
As a result of the increased interest in moving, sales of moving goods and services have increased. Last year, online sales of the portable and bulk storage categories grew at a rate five times faster than the previous year. NPD said it expects this growth to continue until 2021. Sales at both office stores and hardware retailers have also increased.
Shipping and shipment deliveries also increased fivefold in 2020 compared to the previous year, according to the NDP. These sales were boosted by people buying corrugated boxes and packing tape.
LinkedIn analyzed the major cities in which American workers moved from April 2020 to October 2020, led by Austin, Texas and Phoenix, Arizona, largely due to a lower cost of living.
NPD Group was not immediately available for comment.