Deliveroo and Netflix experience coronavirus boost

For every winner, there are multiple losers, however, with the hard-hit High-Street retail sector further battered by a 3.6% downturn in department store sales through February while restaurants digested a 6.4% decline in custom.

Metaphorical storms were compounded by the double whammy of storms Ciara and Dennis which between them contributed to a 1.7% decline in clothing spend as shoppers hunkered down amid the wind and rain.

The findings are derived from a consumer confidence survey carried out between 21 and 24 February by Longitude Research, with responses drawn from a representative sample of 2,005 UK consumers.

The broad picture of a shift to convenience was backed up by a separate study conducted by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) which charted a 1.8% slide in sales at non-food stores last month while their online counterparts jumped 3.6%.

Coronavirus consequences continue to ripple out with Facebook, Amazon and eBay forced to enact measures to more robustly police the sale of surgical face masks, hand sanitizer and loo roll amid panic buying.

The US Food and Drug Administration has also intervened to prevent the likes of Purcell from profiteering by blocking any overt mention of Covid-19 or even participating in wider conversations around preventative measures.

Coronavirus is expected to significantly impact global ad spend overall while accelerating existing moves toward utility, e-commerce and live-streaming.