Wednesday, April 29, 2020

My new normal: Buying a spool of thread online


One of the great things about living in NYC is that we still have retail stores.  Or at least we did.  It's hard to say what will happen post-Covid, because so many of them were so severely undercapitalized to begin with. 

And then there's the fact that the Republicans gamed the bailout money to favor their buddies.  How exactly did the Lakers - a $4.4. billion dollar operation qualify for a small business loan in the first place?  More importantly would they, Shake Shack, and Ruth's Chris have returned the money they got if the press hadn't outed them?  I doubt it.  COVID-19 has made it clear just how selfish Americans are.  Especially the rich ones. (Hansen, 2020)

So will the specialty sewing stores in NYC reopen someday?  Maybe.  But I needed some thread now for homemade masks and online was my only option.  I found a wonderful company named Thread Art through Walmart and few days later my thread arrived.

Now the question is what will I do the next time I need thread?  Online or in-store?  Quite frankly, I will go back to the stores once they reopen.  It's easier to pick the correct color in person. :-)

But some of my other new habits may stick.  Research says that it takes three months to learn a new habit.  And I suspect that it will be at least three months before we are able to move on from COVID-19.  So some of those new habits are likely to become permanent, although it's difficult to predict which ones.

It seems unlikely that toilet paper sales will continue to be up 65% forever.  But it's equally unlikely that sales of cleaning products will go down to where they once were.  Having tasted the convenience of ordering online, many will never buy their toiletries in person again.

Whatever does happen, one thing is clear, things won't go back to the way they were.  We all need to accept that and move on - even if it means buying things that cost less than $5 online from now on.

Hansen, S. (2020, April 28)  Potbelly, Shake Shack, The Lakers: Here Are All The Companies Returning PPP Money After Public Backlash.  forbes.com.  Retrieved April 29, 2020, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahhansen/2020/04/28/here-are-all-the-companies-returning-ppp-money-after-public-backlash/#20cfcc2b299c

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