It’s been almost a month since we have started practicing social distancing. A month at home and a meaningful change in our daily routines. But this definitely gives us time to reinvent ourselves. Experience new things, or experience the same things differently. And technology is playing a more than considerable role on this “lockdown”.

Work from home

Remote work is sharply on the rise and so is the amount of tasks being completed at home on a day-to-day basis.

Along with it are the tools that make it possible. Ranging from team collaboration such as Slack or Teamwork, communication apps like Zoom or Meet, to planning and tracking tools like Trello or Projects. Let us not forget about the apps that can help us cut out distractions, keep us focused and lead us to a better work-life balance such as Serene, Daywise or Calm among many others.

At Cualit we have regular meetings with clients from all around the world using the tools mentioned above. Contact is constant and the relationship flows wonderfully, and this was long before we established a home office modality forced by the confinement times we are living today.

E-commerce

A shift in consumer behavior is leading to a substantial increase in online grocery shopping.

Nice to have product sales go down as buyers focus more on basic needs and brands are running huge sales campaigns in light of store closures.

Small and medium sizes businesses that didn’t have an online presence are forced into the world wide web, and those that already had, have limited operations to e-commerce only.

We have implemented e-commerce strategies for local and international clients in diverse areas, and online sales quadrupled in customer e-commerce compared to previous months.

Times that are changing

The coronavirus changed several things in our daily life for sure, and the way we spend money is a clear sign of these peculiar times as you can see in this chart. 

Change in credit and debit card spending

The way people spend determines which companies survive, and this is where creativity applied to technology, marketing, and design is essential. Some businesses saw spikes in spending. Some did not. 

Grocery sales are way up, as people stay home and cook. 

Spending on travel has slumped as people hunker down.

And restaurant sales have plummeted for logical reasons. With social distancing the norm, most restaurants around the country have been ordered to stop offering sit-down service.

Spending on health, paradoxically, has also fallen. It has even down broadly across the health care industry for now, as those who conduct elective procedures, dentists and specialists not working on the coronavirus response are doing less business. 

Education

Whether you are a senior grad or at preschool, social distancing has affected us all, and so it has instantly changed the way education is delivered.

With classes moving onto online platforms, a surge in extended reality experiences, bringing immersive learning to students is likely to come.

Startups

This time of pandemic has given the rise to new ideas and startups that are innovating and contributing to emerging markets.

Most of them with a single sympathetic goal in mind that is solving the most critical societal issues at the moment.

So in this unprecedented time even if you are a business owner, a freelancer working from home, a student or a visionary, at Cualit we can help you or your community innovate. Bridging in creative minds with state of the art technology to change people’s everyday lives for better.