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More Americans plan to relocate this year because of the flexible lifestyle of the home that instituted the Covid-19 pandemic, the NPD group researcher said in a recent blog post.
Nearly 20% of the 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 relocate this year compared to the previous year.
NPD’s comments come as winter sets in and the peak months to move, May to September, lie ahead.
As people become more comfortable with the ability to work from anywhere, they realize that they do not have to be pinned down in a certain place near an office to take care of themselves or their families. It gives them the ability to live in an area with a lower cost of living or that is closer to family, NPD said.
Due to the growing interest in relocation, sales of moving supplies and services increased. Last year, online sales of portable and bulk storage categories grew at a rate five times higher than the previous year. NPD said it expects growth to continue until 2021. Sales also grew in office supply stores and at hardware stores.
According to NPD, mail and mailing supplies also increased fivefold in 2020 compared to the previous year. These sales have been boosted by people buying zinc trays and packaging tape.
LinkedIn analyzed the major cities to which U.S. workers relocated from April 2020 to October 2020, with Austin, Texas and Phoenix, Arizona at the top, largely due to a cheaper cost of living.
NPD Group was not immediately available for comment.