AP

Once fading, mask sales starting to rebound

Jul 28, 2021, 8:26 PM | Updated: Jul 29, 2021, 8:28 am

NEW YORK (AP) — Masks, which had started to disappear from store shelves, may be front and center again.

A spot check of businesses and other data sources are showing that mask sales have been rising in recent weeks as Americans worry about the surging cases of the delta variant of the coronavirus. Retail analysts expect mask sales will get another jolt after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention late Tuesday changed course on some masking guidelines, recommending that even vaccinated people return to wearing masks indoors in parts of the U.S. where the cases are surging.

Sales of masks rose 24% for the week ended Tuesday, compared to the prior week, reversing weekly declines since May, according to the Adobe Digital Economy Index. San Francisco-based grocery delivery company Instacart said mask sales via its online platform have increased since the Fourth of July weekend, reversing a decline that had begun in April. And Google reports that searches for the term “masks” doubled since the CDC announcement.

The scenario marks a shift from the past two months when masks were getting heavily discounted and were being pushed to the side on the sales floor following the CDC move to relax guidance on masks in May. Even before then, data from NielsenIQ shows that mask sales started to consistently decline weekly since early April, going from $101 million worth of masks to roughly $37 million for the week ended July 3. It doesn’t yet have July sales figures.

“People were just not buying them — masks were really fading out,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail. He noted that even as consumers go back to buying masks, the mask business is still not going to be as big as last year during the height of COVID-19. But he noted that stores face challenges in determining how much they should order and how much they should display them.

“No one actually wants to go out and make another big commitment,” Saunders said. “No one knows what’s going to happen.”

For many stores looking to generate sales in an overall retail sales slump last year, masks were a bright spot. Most notably, Gap, along with its portfolio of brands including Old Navy and Athleta, as well as Etsy made millions of dollars on masks.

Etsy, a global online marketplace for handmade goods, has seen its masks go from 14% of gross merchandise sales in the second quarter of 2020 to less than 3% in the first quarter of 2021. The company declined to comment on mask sales trends on Wednesday, noting it’s in its quiet period ahead of its earnings release next week.

Since the onset of the pandemic, 3M Co. increased its annual production of N95 masks fourfold to 2.5 billion by building extra capacity. It said that global demand reached its peak in the first quarter of this year, which included stockpiling from governments and hospitals. It’s now seeing a deceleration in overall health care demand and is adjusting production, increasing supply to industrial and consumer outlets while continuing to prioritize health care workers in the geographies seeing increased COVID-19 cases and elevated hospitalization rates.

But 3M CEO Mike Roman told analysts on Tuesday that, just like in the past, it is “prepared to increase production in response to COVID-19-related needs or future emergencies when needed.”

Honeywell International Inc., another big manufacturer of N95 masks, said it “continues to produce N95 masks in the U.S. to meet the needs of frontline and essential workers.”

In light of renewed interest in face coverings, Vanessa Gordon plans to relaunch later this week her website that sells masks she designed and produces in India. She launched Eastendtastelifestyle.com in September 2020 with Shopify but closed it down in January because she only sold about 50 through the site and another 50 through family and friends. She said there was too much competition elsewhere. She also realized shoppers weren’t wearing face coverings as much.

Gordon says she now feels confident she will quickly sell out of her inventory of 1,000 masks and will produce even more.

“People are still getting sick — even those who are vaccinated,” Gordon said. “This is shifting people’s mindset. I think we will be wearing masks for a long time.”

___

AP Business Writers Dee-Ann Durbin in Detroit and Alexandra Olson in New York contributed to this report.

_____

Follow Anne D’Innocenzio: http://twitter.com/ADInnocenzio

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

Image: A cargo ship is stuck under the part of the structure of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after ...

Associated Press

Authorities identify 2 bodies recovered at site of Baltimore bridge collapse

A major bridge in Baltimore snapped and collapsed after a container ship rammed into it early Tuesday, and several vehicles fell into the river below.

1 day ago

Photo: Mountaineer Jim Whittaker has died at 95....

Gene Johnson, The Associated Press

Lou Whittaker, among the most famous American mountaineers, has died at age 95

Lou Whittaker, a legendary American mountaineer who helped lead ascents of Mount Everest, K2 and Denali, has died at age 95.

1 day ago

File photo: Former Sen. Joe Lieberman speaks in Washington on Jan. 18, 2024....

Associated Press

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ VP pick in 2000, dead at 82

Former U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who nearly won the vice presidency on the Democratic ticket with Al Gore in 2000, has died.

1 day ago

islamic state attack...

Vanessa Gera, The Associated Press

What we know after the Islamic State group claims responsibility for Moscow massacre

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an attack on a suburban Moscow concert hall that killed at least 133 people.

4 days ago

Moscow shooting...

The Associated Press

Russia: 60 dead, 145 injured in concert hall raid; Islamic State group claims responsibility

Assailants burst into a concert hall in Moscow on Friday and sprayed the crowd with gunfire, killing over 60 people, injuring more than 100.

6 days ago

Photo: Britain's Kate, Duchess of Cambridge visits 282 (East Ham) Squadron, RAF Air Cadets, Cornwel...

Associated Press

Kate Middleton announces she has cancer, is undergoing chemotherapy

Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, says she is undergoing chemotherapy to treat cancer. She has been out of view since Christmas.

6 days ago

Once fading, mask sales starting to rebound