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More Americans are planning to relocate this year because of the flexible home-working lifestyle that ushered in the Covid-19 pandemic, market researcher The NPD Group said in a recent blog post.
Nearly 20% of people in the country have been working full-time from home since December, and 28% of Americans have considered moving during the pandemic, NPD said. In addition, 20% more consumers plan to move this year compared to the previous year.
NPD’s comments come as the winter draws to a close and the peak months for relocation, May through September, lie ahead.
As people become more comfortable with the ability to work from anywhere, they realize that they don’t need to be pinned down to a particular location near an office to earn a living. This gives them the option 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, the sale of moving supplies and services has risen sharply. Last year, online sales of portable and bulk storage categories grew at a rate five times that of the previous year. NPD said it expects that growth to continue into 2021. Sales also grew at office supply stores and hardware retailers.
According to NPD, postal and shipping supplies will also have increased five times in 2020 compared to the year before. These sales were boosted by people buying corrugated boxes and packing tape.
LinkedIn analyzed the major cities US workers moved to from April 2020 to October 2020, with Austin, Texas and Phoenix, Arizona at the top, largely due to a lower cost of living.
NPD Group was not immediately available for comment.