The Coronavirus pandemic has considerably strained several businesses, but some sectors have proved more resilient to lockdown pressures than others. It is no surprise that big tech has fared well in the past year, but other more traditional sectors, too, have proved buoyant in testing times.
The pandemic dealt a cruel blow to businesses and there is no indication of when they will reopen. Across the world, the hardest hit sectors are travel, hospitality, entertainment, and the arts because of lockdowns. Indeed, some industries have struggled while others have thrived during this time. A handful of industries have proved themselves pandemic-proof after the vaccine’s introduction, showing a revival path for the economy in 2021. Withstanding the past shocks, they have put themselves into a strong position treading into a post covid future. Here, world finance takes a look at those five pandemic-proof industries.
1 – Real Estate
The covid induced recession is the worst since the great depression of the 1930s. Reduced wages have created a pandemic pinch, yet the demand for homes is skyrocketing. The new normal WFH has created a race for space, sending home prices soaring. In the UK and USA, there is a covid boom for real estate, with home sales reaching the highest level and prices rising at the highest rate since 2006, confirms Halifax. Though covid is on a slow recovery path, estate agents predict a rise in house prices, creating a real estate boom.
2 -IT and Digital Services
Unsurprisingly we have become more reliant on digital services and technologies for WFH, remote schooling, and virtual socializing. Speeding vaccination programs indicate a return to normalcy, but the WFH is here to stay. This trend is a boon bringing soaring profits for the big tech industry. Aws has seen a record profit of $6.3bn, while Apple posted $59.7bn revenue in Q3 2020 as companies go digital across the globe. Social media usage is soaring, with 3.3 bn people using the Facebook app. These points indicate tech companies are not just pandemic-proof but pandemic profit.
3 – Construction
Work has continued in the construction sector despite the lockdowns though other industries came to a standstill. Increased demand for housing fuelled a boom in infrastructure project works and has topped the pre-pandemic levels. In the UK, the construction work has bounced back after a spring contraction and reached a record £14.01bn, while in the USA, there is a rise of 18.3 percent in the construction business, showing no impact of the pandemic.
4 – Ecommerce
The covid19 induced lockdowns have resulted in dwindling footfalls in brick-and-mortar stores, thus transforming the world of retail. This suffering of the physical stores has helped the e-commerce operations boom by a remarkable 24 percent in the UK in 2020, which had a growth of just 4.5 percent globally before the pandemic. The pandemic has ushered the e-commerce industry’s growth and has fast-tracked it by five years, and is believed to be a permanent change in consumer behavior.
5 – Pharmaceuticals
Not many would be familiar with pharmaceutical companies like Moderna, Pfizer, and AstraZeneca as much as Coca-Cola, Disney, and Nike. The pharmaceutical industry, which has taken center stage this year, plays a central role in the global fight against covid19. The success in making multiple vaccines against the coronavirus has brought joy in the world and has helped soar the pharmaceutical company shares. What is more, the pandemic has highlighted the importance of infectious disease prevention, treatment, and research, with the drug discovery market predicted to be valued at a remarkable $71bn by 2050.
