Pandemic hobbies | Pitney Bowes

First, there was breadmaking, home improvement projects, and walks around the neighborhood. More than a year later, we have Wordle, home organization projects, and neighborhood walks that feel like Bill Murray’s Groundhog Day.

An astonishing 94% of consumers tell us they still engage in a hobby, leading us to wonder how much time and money shoppers are now spending on those hobbies during this stage of the pandemic.

Getting back on the hobby horse

One-third of consumers (33%)—and more than half of Gen Z (51%)—are spending more time on hobbies than they were last summer, when many people were returning to “normal,” hopeful that COVID was in the rear window.

According to our latest BOXpoll surveys, the most popular hobbies (across all consumers) are ones doctors across America would be proud of: reading, cooking & baking (ok, maybe baking not so much), and exercise.

Almost half (48%) of Gen Z and 44% of Millennials said they are playing video games, posing questions like “where are

these supposedly ultra-busy Millennials finding time for Call of Duty?,” as well as a significant marketing opportunity for

retailers targeting those demographics. It’s no accident that three of the biggest acquisitions of 2022 thus far have been of video game companies; Facebook went Meta; and several luxury brands have expanded into the digital goods market.

Like play money

Hobby product brands, take heart: Despite concerns about inflation, only one in ten (or fewer) consumers plan to spend less this year than last year on any given hobby we asked about.

Retailers carrying items related to reading, cooking & baking and exercise can expect a bump in sales from the one-third of consumers who plan to spend more. Retailers in the home improvement and organization segment can expect increased spending from more than a quarter of consumers.

Because flambéing, emoting, glazing, downward dogging, bokehing, and plunge routing can’t wait

We found in BOXpoll surveys last year that hobbyists aren’t as patient with returns as consumers buying products online in general. This round, we discovered the same is true for shipping.

Almost one-quarter (23%) of all consumers, more than one-third (37%) of Millennials, and 42% of Gen Z are more likely to pay for expedited shipping for hobby-related items than other products. If you’re spending more on it anyway, you might as well pay to have it sooner, right?

Hobby retailers can capitalize on this need for speed from younger generations by offering customers several expedited shipping options.

We recommend an average of one shipping option on average per days to delivery (i.e., transit time) day on average, meaning a customer who needs a product in a certain number of days has a clear and obvious choice. Our BOXscore app, which compiles ecommerce order experience benchmarks via crowdsourced mystery shopping, offers “shipping options per day” as one of more than a dozen metrics to show our clients where they stack up with competitors in their industry.

BOXpollTM by Pitney Bowes, a weekly consumer survey on current events, culture,and ecommerce logistics. Conducted by Pitney Bowes with Morning Consult //2094 US consumers surveyed February 2022.© Copyright Pitney Bowes Inc.