Contact: Jill Notini
202.872.5955 x318
[email protected]

Life After COVID: Research Shows Consumers Expect Pandemic Habits to Continue

WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 23, 2021) – Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers have developed new habits in areas like cleaning, shopping and home upgrades. The latest research conducted by the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) reveals which habits will continue after the pandemic ends. For an overwhelming majority, a return to ‘life as we knew it’ is expected.  Many of the disruptions of day-to-day life from COVID-19 are anticipated to be temporary. However, a study of more than 4,000 U.S. residents shows that many new cleaning and shopping practices will continue after the pandemic ends.   Some of the findings include:

Cleaning, tidying and organization:
• 42% of consumers reported cleaning/tidying more than before the pandemic. Of those, 36% say their new habits will continue.
• 46% of consumers have taken steps to improve their indoor air quality (i.e. purchasing an air cleaner, changing their air cleaner filter) since the pandemic.
 Shopping habits:
• 55% of consumers who have purchased an appliance during the pandemic did so online. This was the first online appliance purchase for 70% of those consumers.
• 74% of consumers reported they were able to purchase their preferred appliance model during the pandemic.
• 42% expect to continue shopping online as much as they did during the pandemic.
• Consumers are spending more on groceries (26% of household budget vs 22%) and less on restaurants. A third (33%) expect to continue to spend more on groceries after the pandemic.

Interest in home upgrades:
• Over the next 12 months, many consumers expect to upgrade their kitchen appliances (29%), complete a home renovation (28%), upgrade laundry appliances (27%) and purchase or replace countertop kitchen appliances (26%).
• 58% of consumers expressed an interest in purchasing appliances with additional cleaning/sanitation features.

Consumers are also showing more interest in keeping a healthy home, cleaning and disinfecting more often, taking steps to improve indoor air quality, and vacuuming, mopping and steam cleaning more. They turned to air cleaners as part of their plan to reduce the chance of illness, with 67% rating germs and viruses as a top air quality concerns.

Overall, consumers surveyed expect COVID-19 to improve, with nearly 70% saying the situation will be somewhat or much better in a year.

Jill Notini, AHAM Vice President of Communications and Marketing, is available immediately for interviews on the specific research findings regarding U.S. consumers. The research also includes figures on cooking habits, appliance use and use of digital products, among other areas of life at home.


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The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) is the trade association representing manufacturers of major, portable and floor care home appliances and suppliers to the industry. AHAM is headquartered in Washington, D.C. and maintains an office in Ottawa. AHAM is the single voice providing the home appliance industry and its customers leadership, advocacy and a forum for action — developing and implementing credible solutions for public policy, standards and business decisions. You can visit AHAM’s web site at http://www.aham.org or follow us on Twitter @AHAM_Voice and @AHAM_Policy.