Post-Covid Era: Which Industries Will Continue to Shine

As the vaccinations roll out across the world and economies start preparing for an exit from the after-effects of the covid-19 pandemic, some sectors are destined to come out stronger and brighter, indeed a blessing in disguise for some. While the pandemic unleashed unprecedented crisis and led the global economy towards recession combined with supply-chain disruptions, suspended flights, closed hotels, and schools, some sectors managed to see this as an opportunity to make gain and innovate their existing business plans and explore sustainable solutions. From online classes to e-shopping, the new normal brought out the silver lining for some sectors that are ready to shine once the economy comes out of the eye of the storm.

Here’s a glimpse of the industries that are going to benefit from the back-to-business models they hold:

1. E-commerce:
   With social distancing norms in place and the closure of retail outlets during lockdowns, people started moving to online shopping portals more than ever to get the deliveries at their doorstep. E-commerce platforms such as Amazon, BigBasket, and Zomato used the most out of this opportunity to expand their outreach and changed their business strategies to attract customers with attractive discounts and vouchers. The strategies proved to be a success and saw a significant rise in activity on e-retail portals that continues.

   Amazon, for instance, attracted a large number of customers with its catchy offers on prime membership and came out as a winner among its peers. Postmates and BigBasket, on the other hand, made big by providing discounted prices and express deliveries. The rising volumes of online orders led these e-com companies to update their existing systems to handle the challenges like delays and cancellations. This further increased the credibility of online shopping portals which, according to analysts, will keep on registering growth in their business even after this pandemic becomes a thing of the past.

2. OTT, Social Media, and Gaming:
   The film and entertainment industry was one of the firsts to take the shock of the lockdowns and closure of theatres and gaming zones. With bans on public gatherings and recreational hubs being out of access, over the top platforms and online gaming and video sharing apps turned out to be the saviors during the days of gloom.

   As soon as the lockdowns were announced, Netflix and Amazon Prime could witness their memberships rising significantly. Amazon prime and Disney+ saw their maximum viewership during this period with the worldwide premiere of movies of the public’s favorite film stars. During this period, the world saw controversies surrounding Chinese apps with the USA and India – announcing the ban on TikTok, the famous video-sharing app. But this proved to be a fertile ground for other social media platforms to take over the market from the Chinese giant. From Instagram coming up with ‘Reels’ to indigenous battle royale like gaming applications replacing Pub-G, the online entertainment industry made the best out of every opportunity that came their way and the prospects are sure to remain brighter for this sector in the post-pandemic world.

3. Online Education:
   The closure of schools and colleges due to the hovering fears of infections led the institutions switch to online classes so as to prevent any loss of academic progress. Zoom and Google meet became the virtual classrooms with even examinations being held online. Online education portals such as Edx, Udemy, and Topper learning saw their subscribers increasing rapidly as private tuitions remained out of reach due to the pandemic induced lockdowns.

   The number of people taking up online vocational, programming, and language courses saw a remarkable rise as job seekers enrolled to accelerate job search and make the most of their free time. Even as governments across the world start allowing the reopening of educational institutions, the EdTech industry is here to stay. With much of the workload of institutions being shifted to artificial intelligence supported learning systems and students taking up a greater interest in short-term professional and certificate courses, online education seems to have a promising future.

4. Banking and Finance:
   Amid COVID-19, borrowing from the regulated financial market was the only way businesses could be run and families could be fed. This led to a remarkable increase in the lending activities of the commercial banks. As businesses are now restarting and firms are resuming production, the demand for formal credit is set to increase further. Banks and other financial institutions, on the back of easy repayment offers and low-cost investments, are projected to benefit from this transition.

   Once the economies bounce back to the pre-pandemic levels and businesses start repaying the dues, these lending institutions will be the first to register profits. The boost in digitization combined with increased lending activities by the banks is sure to register a growth in the net revenues of the banking sector and non-banking financial institutions after the pandemic subsides completely and manufacturing picks up.

5. Health and Fitness:
   The unprecedented medical emergency across the world once again alarmed the health institutions of the need for a major overhaul of the existing systems and cautioned the public against the impacts of negligence. On one hand, the pandemic led to a sharp increase in sanitation products such as sanitizers, gloves, and masks. On the other hand, it led to a revamp of medical infrastructure with the digitalization of consultation services taking over from the clinical consultations.

   The pandemic brought a behavioral change in the mindsets with people turning to online deliveries of medical supplies and fitness classes being virtually held. With rising awareness among the masses, health insurance services also saw a dramatic increase in terms of new buyers.The pandemic proved to be the much-awaited opportunity for Ayurveda and Homeopathy to capture the market as people turned to alternative medicines and ayurvedic therapies to boost immunity in the absence of any potential solution in modern science. This sudden increase in the need for medical essentials is anticipated to see more investment in the healthcare sector and fitness services as the countries worldwide strive to fortify their healthcare infrastructure against any possible crisis of this scale. This will make the health sector more accessible to the remote public as well as generate employment opportunities in the sector to absorb the rising demand.