By KIM BELLARD

These are, no question, hard times, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the U.S., we’re closing in on 180,000 deaths in the U.S. Some 40 million workers lost their jobs, and over 30 million are still receiving unemployment benefits. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of small businesses are believed to have closed, and many big companies are declaring bankruptcy. Malls, retailers, and restaurants have been among the hardest hit.
Yes, these are hard times. But not for everyone.
Last week Target announced what CNBC called a “monster quarter.” Sales for online and stores open at least a year jumped 24% for the quarter ending August 1 – peak COVID-19 days – and profits were up an astonishing 80%. Its CEO specifically referenced the pandemic, as shoppers sought safe and convenient shopping options.
It is not just Target doing well. No one should be surprised that Amazon is doing well, as more turn to online shopping and Amazon’s quick delivery, but The Wall Street Journal reports that Bog Box stores generally are doing well, including not just Target but also Walmart, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Costco, and Best Buy. The efforts they were taking to compete with Amazon, such as increased online sales and curbside pickup, served to help them survive the pandemic’s effects.
Similarly, if you’re a streaming service like Netflix or Disney+, the pandemic has been great for business. Video conferencing services like Zoom are booming. Car dealers are struggling, but not online car sales.
And, of course, if you’re a cloud computing service supporting all these shifts to online, the world has become even more dependent on you. “Many customers are scaling beyond their wildest projections,” Carrie Thorp of Google Cloud told WSJ.
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