Americans are currently buying an historic amount of personal computers

As states and cities across the U.S. exercise stay-at-home social distancing in order to slow the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, Americans are currently buying an historic amount of personal computers as they transition from the office to the home office. And with that change, many workers are finding they don’t have the resources they need to effectively and comfortably do their jobs remotely.

Daniel Howley for Yahoo Finance:

That in turn is causing a massive uptick in the sale of everything from webcams and monitors to laptops and printers at retailers including Best Buy and Walmart. The increase is so significant, in fact, that sales of certain devices like webcams and monitors have grown by more than 100% in just a few short weeks.

According to market researcher NPD Group, U.S. sales of laptops and desktops were up 40%, while keyboard sales were up 64% in the first 3 weeks of March 2020 compared to the same period in 2019. PC headset and monitor sales were also up 134% and 138%, respectively. And of course, webcam sales were up a whopping 179%.

“We’re sort of calling it the ‘stuck-at-home’ bubble,” IDC research vice president Linn Huang said.

The massive jump in sales won’t last forever. In fact, it may have already peaked. But the coronavirus lockdowns may force consumers to recognize that they need more than just the phones in their pockets to meet all of the technology needs.

Interestingly, Huang said he believes once lockdowns are lifted and consumer confidence returns, we could see a long-term increase in at-home device sales, as more people realize that they need up-to-date laptops, desktops, and networking equipment in their homes in case such an emergency strikes again.

MacDailyNews Take: And Apple is very nicely positioned with an all new MacBook Air, stating at just $999, and all-new iPad Pro 11-inch and 12.9-inch models, staring at just starts at $799 and $999, respectively!